6H98UZ00 


saiuvaan  AiisaaAiNn  viawmoo 


Iprimiiiire  C|ri$tiaititg 

REVIVED 

IN  THE  FAITH  AND  PRACTICE  OP  THE  PEOPLE  CALLED 

QUAKERS; 

"WRITTEN 

IN  TESTIMONY  TO  THE  PRESENT  DISPENSATION  OF  GOD 
THROUGH  THEM  TO  THE  WORLD; 


PREJUDICES  MAY  BE  REMOVED,  THE   SIMPLE  INFORMED,  THE  WELL- 
INCLINED   ENCOURAGED,  AND  THE   TRUTH  AND  ITS 
INNOCENT  FRIENDS  RIGHTLY  REPRESENTED. 


BY 

WILLIAM    PENN. 

uh  is  prefmb  a  Ulcmoir  of  JJnui, 
By  JAMES  M.  BROWN, 

OF    VIRGINIA. 


This  reprint  gives  much  of  the  Scripture  which  is  referred  to  in  the 
original. 


1857. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1857,  by 

JAMES  M.  BROWN, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Western 
District  of  Virginia. 


STEREOTYPED   BY  L.   JOHNSON  AND  CO. 
PHILADELPHIA. 


w 

?* 


q  b 


The  author  gratefully  acknowledges  the  many  favours  he  has 
received  in  aiding  him  to  get  up  this  book,  particularly  that  of 
Jno.  Frost,  LL.D.,  for  the  plate  of  the  likeness  of  William  Penn, 
and  that  of  Messrs.  H.  Cowperthwait  &  Co.,  for  the  loan  of  their 
plate  of  William  Penn's  Treaty  with  the  Indians  at  Philadelphia. 

Of  the  various  representations  of  that  ever-memorable  event, 
none  that  he  has  seen  so  fully  sets  it  forth  according  to  his  fancy 
as  it  is  in  the  third  revised  edition  of  Mitchell's  Primary  Geogra- 
phy, published  by  Messrs.  H.  Cowperthwait  &  Co.,  of  Philadelphia, 
1854,  page  73. 

And  for  the  free  use  which  the  author  has  made  of  the  works  of 
others  who  have  written  of  William  Penn,  he  now  tenders  his  pro- 
found acknowledgments. 

And  last,  but  not  least,  to  Edward  W.  Miller,  Esq.,  of  the 
firm  of  Miller  &  Burlock,  bookbinders,  &c,  George  Street,  Phila- 
delphia, for  the  great  attention  he  bestowed  in  procuring  ma- 
terials, &c. 

To  appreciate  fully  such  favours,  they  must  be  received  by  one 
remote  and  unacquainted  in  cities,  like 

The  Author. 


1* 


116085 


TO  THE  PUBLIC: 

But  more  especially  to  the  followers  of  William  Perm, 
George  Fox,  and  Robert  Barclay. 


If  it  be  made  a  question  why  a  member  of  the  M.  E. 
Church  should  interest  himself  so  much  as  to  reprint 
a  work  of  William  Penn's  more  than  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years  after  its  first  publication,  and  a  short 
memoir  of  the  man.  let  the  answer  be — William  Penn, 
like  the  great  Washington,  was  a  benefactor  to  his 
race.  No  country  or  sect  can  claim  him  exclusively  ; 
his  acts  were  too  general  in  their  character  and  no- 
ble in  their  object  to  be  confined  or  appropriated  to 
any  clime  or  to  any  persuasion ;  hence  my  privilege. 
Read  the  work  attentively,  and  consider  well  the  cha- 
racter of  the  man,  in  connection  with  the  condition 
of  the  world  at  that  time, — its  moral  darkness,  the 
prevalency  of  dishonesty,  priestcraft,  superstition, 
intolerance,  bigotry,  church  pride,  and  arrogance ;  in 
short,  every  thing  hateful  to  a  man  like  William  Penn, 
who  was  too  wise  to  be  cheated  by  the  vanities,  empty 
professions,  or  promises,  of  this  fleeting  world ;  and 
then  judge  whether  it  be  not  high  time  to  recur  to 
first  lessons  and  first  principles,  and  whether  there 
be  a  man,  woman,  or  child,  who  would  not  only  be 
gratified,  but  much  profited,  by  a  careful  and  proper 
reading  of  this  little  volume ;  thence  my  object  and 
pleasure. 

The  Author. 

7 


BRIEF    MEMOIR 


WILLIAM  PENN, 


CHAPTER   I. 

"  He  views 
The  dismal  situation  waste  and  wild ; 
A  dungeon  horrible  on  all  sides  round, 
As  one  great  furnace  flamed;  yet  from  those  flames 
No  light,  but  rather  darkness  visible 
Served  only  to  discover  sights  of  wo, 
Regions  of  sorrow,  doleful  shades, 
Where  peace  and  rest  can  never  dwell." — Paradise  Lost. 

Our  earth,  all  beautiful  as  it  is,  and  admirably  adapted 
to  contribute  to  the  wants  of  the  human  family  and  render 
them  happy,  has  been  by  them  converted  into  something 
very  much  resembling  a  slaughter-house. 

From  the  earliest  account  of  man,  we  learn  that  among 
his  first  acts  was  that  of  murder,  most  foul  and  malicious. 
Almost  every  page  of  his  history  repeats  the  sad  story  of  his 
murderous  deeds ;  and  but  for  the  light  of  the  glorious  gos- 
pel of  Jesus  Christ,  darkness  would  reign  supreme. 

At  intervals  the  light  has  shone  brightly,  the  clouds  of 
ignorance  and  wickedness  appeared  to  be  yielding  to  the  in- 
fluence of  the  gospel,  and  hope  has  again  and  again  sprung 
up  anew  in  the  bosom  of  the  faithful ;  but  alas  !  alas !  dark- 
ness returned  with  tenfold  horrors. 

The  Reformation  seemed  to  promise  much  to  the  cause  of 

9 


10  A    BRIEF    MEMOIR 

Christ.  The  powers  of  darkness  seemed  to  be  shaken  to 
their  centre,  and  a  flood  of  light  was  poured  upon  the  earth 
that  appeared  sufficient  to  dispel  the  gloom  and  make  it  all 
glorious  within ;  but  man,  the  poor  recipient,  proved  him- 
self again  unworthy,  and  in  a  few  years  perverted  the 
blessings  that  Heaven,  in  mercy,  had  richly  bestowed  upon 
him ;  and,  instead  of  seeking  for  others,  by  the  operation 
and  exercise  of  faith,  hope,  and  charity,  we  find  him  en- 
deavouring to  merit  heaven  by  good  works,  and  in  his  blind- 
ness and  bigotry  burning  all  those  who  had  independence 
enough  to  think  and  act  for  themselves. 

What  an  astounding  disclosure  it  would  be  to  the  world 
could  I  but  give  the  number  and  extent  of  that  multitude 
of  men,  women,  and  children  who  have  suffered  death  for 
opinion's  sake  at  the  hands  of  the  ruthless  executioner  of 
religious  intolerance ! 

If  it  be  asked  which  was  the  guilty  party,  let  the  answer 
be  forever  remembered.  It  was  the  party  in  power.  And 
the  constant  warfare  waged  for  ascendency  has  kept  the 
earth  stained  with  blood.  Any  one  who  will  read  carefully 
the  history  of  Europe  for  two  centuries  beginning  with 
the  year  1500,  will,  I  am  sure,  conclude  that  darkness  then 
covered  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  great  deep. 
Within  this  period  of  time,  to  wit,  on  Monday,  October  the 
14th,  1644,  was  born  in  London,  the  great  champion  of 
religious  liberty,  the  American  lawgiver,  and  founder  of 
Pennsylvania,  William  Penn.  He  was  the  son  of  Sir  Wil- 
liam Penn,  a  man  of  good  estate  and  high  reputation,  who 
in  the  time  of  the  Commonwealth  served  in  some  of  the 
highest  maritime  offices,  and  whose  tomb  bears  the  follow- 
ing inscription : 

To  the  Just  Memory  of  Sir  "William  Penn,  Knight,  and  sometimes 
General,  Born  at  Bristol,  Anno  1621.  Son  of  Captain  Giles  Penn,  seve- 
ral years  Consul  for  the  English  in  the  Mediterranean;  of  the  Penns 
of  Pennslodge  in  the   County  of  Wilts,  and  those  Penns  of  Penn  in 


OF   WILLIAM    PBNN.  11 

the  County  of  Bucks,  and  by  his  mother  from  the  Gilberts,  in  the 
County  of  Somerset,  originally  from  Yorkshire,  addicted  from  his  youth 
to  Maritime  affairs :  He  was  made  Captain  at  the  years  of  Twenty 
One,  Rear-Admiral  of  Ireland  at  Twenty  Three,  Vice-Admiral  of  Ire- 
land at  Twenty  Five,  Admiral  to  the  Streights  at  Twenty  Nine,  Vice- 
Admiral  of  England  at  Thirty  One,  and  General  in  the  first  Dutch  War 
at  Thirty  Two.  Whence  returning,  Anno  1655,  He  was  a  Parliament- 
Man  for  the  Town  of  Weymouth ;  1660  made  Commissioner  of  the  Ad- 
miralty and  Navy,  Governor  of  the  Town  and  Fort  of  Eingsail;  Vice- 
Admiral  of  Munster,  and  a  Member  of  that  Provincial  Council,  and 
Anno  1664  was  chosen  Great  Captain  Commander  under  his  Royal 
Highness,  in  that  Signal  and  most  evidently  Successful  Fight  against  the 
Dutch  Fleet. 

Thus  he  took  leave  of  the  Sea,  his  old  Element,  but  continued  still  his 
other  Employs,  till  1669,  at  which  time,  through  Bodily  Infirmitios  con- 
tracted by  the  Care  and  Fatigue  of  Public  Affairs,  he  withdrew,  pre- 
pared, and  made  for  his  end  ;  and  with  a  gentle  and  even  Gale  in  much 
Peace  arrived,  and  anchored  in  his  last  and  best  Port  at  Wanstead  in 
the  County  of  Esses,  the  16th  of  September,  1670,  being  then  but  Forty 
Nine  years  and  four  months  old. 

To  His  Name  and  Memory,  His  Surviving  Lady  hath  Erected  This 
Remembrance. 

After  the  Restoration  lie  was  knighted  by  King  Charles 
the  Second,  being  a  peculiar  favourite  of  the  then  Duke  of 
York,  James,  a  brother  to  Charles. 

Paternal  care,  and  a  promising  prospect  of  his  son's  ad- 
vancement, induced  the  father  to  give  him  a  liberal  educa- 
tion; and  the  youth,  of  an  excellent  genius,  made  such 
early  improvements  in  literature,  that  about  the  fifteenth 
year  of  his  age  he  was  entered  a  student  at  Christ's  Church 
College  in  Oxford. 

His  ardent  desire  after  pure  and  spiritual  religion  (of 
which  he  had  before  received  some  taste,  or  relish,  through 
the  ministry  of  one  Thomas  Loe,  a  Quaker)  now  began  to 
show  itself;  for,  with  certain  other  students  of  that  univer- 
sity, he  withdrew  from  the  national  way  of  worship,  and 
held  private  meetings  for  the  exercise  of  religion,  where 
they  both  preached  and  prayed  among  themselves.  This 
gave  great  offence  to  the  heads  of  the  college,  and  when  but 


12  A   BRIEF   MEMOIR 

sixteen  years  of  age  be  was  fined  for  nonconformity  j  for 
persisting  in  the  practice,  he  was  soon  after  expelled. 

At  this  time  the  true  character  of  the  youth  was  fully 
developed.  He  was  endowed  with  many  good  properties, 
not  the  least  of  which  were  the  power  of  great  discernment; 
a  firmness  of  purpose,  with  a  moral  courage  that  knew  no 
fear ;  a  perfect  disregard  for  the  opinion  of  the  world,  when 
that  opinion  was  at  variance  with  his  sense  of  duty,  or  stood 
between  him  and  his  God;  a  sense  of  justice  capable  of 
making  the  nicest  discriminations,  accompanied  by  a  moral 
honesty  that  stopped  at  no  sacrifice;  a  perseverance  that 
never  wearied,  and  a  spirit  of  tolerance  and  charity  that  was 
truly  godlike. 


CHAPTER  II. 

"Yet  him  God  the  Most  High  vouchsafes 
To  call  by  visions  from  his  father's  house, 
His  kindred  and  false  gods,  into  a  land 
Which  he  will  show  him,  and  from  him  will  raise 
A  mighty  nation,  and  upon  him  shower 
His  benediction  so,  that  in  his  seed 
All  nations  shall  be  blest.     He  straight  obeys, 
Not  knowing  to  what  land,  yet  firm  believes." — Paradise  Lost. 

At  this  time  commenced  the  conflict  between  the  father 
and  the  son.  The  fond  parent,  who  had  paved  the  road  for 
his  son  to  honour,  wealth,  and  fame,  now  for  the  first  time 
saw  his  hopes  blighted,  and  in  the  anguish  of  his  spirit 
resorted  not  only  to  harsh  words,  but  to  blows,  in  order  to 
change  his  son's  course ;  and  finding  both  ineffectual,  he 
turned  him  out  of  doors.  The  youth  bore  it  patiently  until 
affection  triumphed  over  anger,  when  he  was  sent  to  France 
with  some  persons  of  quality,  with  the  view  of  having  his 


OF   WILLIAM    PENN.  13 

attention  directed  from  the  subject  of  religion.  He  con- 
tinued there  until  the  object  was  very  nearly  accomplished, 
and  when  he  returned  his  father  was  much  pleased  to  find 
the  experiment  had  proved  so  successful.  A  knowledge  of 
the  French  language  and  French  politeness  had  been  ac- 
quired, together  with  a  desire  to  practise  them. 

Now  it  was  that  he  was  tempted  of  the  devil  to  desert 
his  religious  principles.  To  his  youthful  mind  were  pre- 
sented the  honours  and  pleasures  of  the  world,  the  favour 
and  love  of  that  father  who  had  done  so  much  for  him 
already,  (and  was  anxious  to  do  so  much  more,)  and  the 
comforts  of  his  home,  where  he  enjoyed  all  he  could  desire, 
with  a  prospect  (provided  he  did  not  offend  his  father)  of 
inheriting  his  whole  estate.  To  all  this  must  be  added  the 
favour  of  his  king  and  the  smiles  and  caresses  of  the  court. 
Several  years  were  spent  in  this  dubious  condition,  and 
especial  care  was  taken  by  his  father  to  prevent  a  return  to 
his  former  companions.  He  entered  him  as  a  student  of 
law  at  Lincoln's  Inn,  had  him  employed  in  the  king's  ser- 
vice, presented  him  to  great  personages,  and  caused  him  to 
visit  them.  In  the  Dutch  war  he  belonged  to  his  father's 
staff  for  a  short  time,  yet  witnessed  real  service.  Shortly 
after  this  the  plague  ravaged  London,  and  William  Penn 
changed  his  residence. 

The  solemn  scenes  he  had  witnessed  in  the  metropolis  no 
doubt  revived  his  former  religious  sentiments,  and  more 
than  ever  convinced  him  of  the  folly  of  seeking  happiness 
in  any  thing  except  purity  of  heart,  with  which  he  always 
associated  a  life  of  self-denial.  The  admiral  was  not  long 
in  discovering  a  change  in  his  son's  demeanour,  and  deter- 
mined to  repeat  his  former  experiment ;  and,  owning  a  fine 
estate  in  Ireland  which  required  immediate  attention,  pro- 
posed to  his  son  to  go  and  take  charge  of  it,  giving  him 
letters  of  introduction  to  the  first  officers  of  the  govern- 
ment.    He  arrived  in  1665  among  his  father's  friends,  by 

2 


14  A    BRIEF    MEMOIR 

whom  he  was  received  with  marked  respect.  He  asso- 
ciated on  the  most  familiar  and  friendly  terms  with  the 
Duke  of  Ormonde  and  his  family.  An  insurrection  among 
the  soldiers  at  Carrickfergus  afforded  Penn  an  opportunity 
to  display  his  military  talents.  He  served  as  a  volunteer, 
and  so  distinguished  himself  as  to  receive  general  applause 
from  his  superior  officers,  who  proposed  that  he  should  join 
the  army,  and  take  command  of  a  company  of  foot.  To  this 
he  assented,  and  sought  his  father's  consent,  which,  not 
being  obtained,  the  idea  was  abandoned,  but  not  before  he 
had  his  likeness  painted  in  military  costume,  which  is  said 
to  be  the  truest  one  ever  taken  of  him. 

The  duke  presented  him  with  a  highly  responsible  office 
connected  with  the  fleet  at  Kinsale,  the  duties  of  which  he 
discharged  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  his  employer.  The 
interest  of  the  Irish  estate  required  his  services  in  London, 
when  his  superior  capacity  for  business  was  fully  developed. 
His  father,  fearing  the  religious  influence  of  his  former  ac- 
quaintances, soon  hurried  him  off  to  Ireland.  Having  busi- 
ness at  Cork,  he  there  met  and  associated  with  Quakers,  and 
at  their  meeting  again  heard  Thomas  Loe,  who  began  his 
discourse  with  these  ever-memorable  words,  "  There  is  a 
faith  that  overcomes  the  world,  and  there  is  a  faith  that  is 
overcome  by  the  world."  By  this  discourse  Sir  Admiral 
Penn's  apparently  well-laid  plans  were  entirely  defeated, 
and  William  Penn,  Jr.,  thoroughly  convinced,  subsequent- 
ly became  a  regular  attendant  at  their  meetings,  brook- 
ing violent  persecution.  In  1667  he  and  many  others  were 
apprehended  at  a  Quaker  meeting  in  Cork,  and  taken  before 
the  mayor,  who,  observing  that  his  dress  was  not  that  of  a 
Quaker,  would  have  set  him  at  liberty  upon  bond  for  his 
good  behaviour.  Penn  refused  to  accept  this,  and,  with 
eighteen  others,  was  committed  to  prison. 

His  openly  espousing  the  cause  of  the  Quakers  soon  pro- 
cured him  the  reproachful  name,  which  was  accompanied 


OF    WILLIAM    FENW.  15 

with  scoff  and  derision;  he  was  a  by- word  of  scorn  and  con- 
tempt. The  father,  being  informed  of  the  course  his  son 
had  taken,  recalled  him,  and  on  his  return  was  fully  satis- 
fied of  the  truthfulness  of  the  accounts  he  had  received,  not 
by  his  dress  but  by  his  address. 

Every  parent  must  sympathize  with  William  Penn  the 
elder.  Language  cannot  describe  the  anguish  he  expe- 
rienced on  this  occasion.  I  shall  not  attempt  it.  "  My 
pen,"  says  a  former  biographer,  "  is  diffident  of  its  abilities 
to  describe  that  most  pathetic  and  moving  contest  which  was 
betwixt  his  father  and  him.  His  father,  actuated  by 
natural  love,  principally  aiming  at  his  son's  temporal  ho- 
nour; he,  guided  by  a  divine  impulse,  having  chiefly  in 
view  his  own  eternal  welfare.  His  father,  grieved  to  see  the 
well-accomplished  son  of  his  hopes,  now  ripe  for  worldly 
promotion,  voluntarily  turn  his  back  upon  it;  he,  no  less 
afflicted  to  think  that  a  compliance  with  his  earthly  father's 
pleasure  was  inconsistent  with  an  obedience  to  his  heavenly 
one.  His  father,  pressing  his  conformity  to  the  customs 
and  fashions  of  the  times;  he,  modestly  craving  leave  to 
refrain  from  what  hurt  his  conscience.  His  father,  earnestly 
entreating  him,  and  almost  on  his  knees  beseeching  him,  to 
yield  to  his  desire ;  he,  of  a  loving,  tender  disposition,  in  an 
extreme  agony  of  spirit  to  behold  his  father's  concern  and 
trouble.  His  father,  threatening  to  disinherit  him;  he, 
humbly  submitting  to  his  father's  will  therein.  His  father, 
turning  his  back  on  him  in  anger ;  he,  lifting  up  his  heart 
to  G-od  for  strength  to  support  him  in  that  time  of  trouble." 

His  father,  to  compromise  matters  somewhat,  proposed  to 
excuse  him  from  complying  with  the  fashionable  manners 
and  customs  of  the  day,  provided  he  would  take  off  his  hat 
in  the  presence  of  the  king,  the  duke,  and  himself.  He, 
desiring  time  to  consider  the  question,  withdrew,  and  hum- 
bled himself  before  G-od,  with  fasting  and  supplication.  He 
was  thus  strengthened  in  his  resolution,  and,  returning  to 


16  A    BRIEF    MEMOIR 

his  father,  humbly  signified  that  he  could  not  comply  with 
his  desire.  His  father,  finding  himself  utterly  disappointed 
of  his  hopes,  could  no  longer  endure  him  in  his  sight,  and 
the  second  time  turned  him  out  of  doors. 

William  Penn,  in  relating  his  religious  experience  at  a 
meeting  on  the  Continent  in  1677,  said,  "  Here  I  began  to 
let  them  know  how  and  when  the  Lord  first  appeared  unto 
me,  which  was  about  the  twelfth  year  of  my  age,  anno  1656. 
How  at  times,  between  that  and  the  fifteenth  year,  the 
Lord  visited  me,  and  of  the  divine  impressions  he  gave  me 
of  myself,  of  my  persecutions  at  Oxford,  and  how  the  Lord 
sustained  me  in  the  midst  of  that  hellish  darkness  and  de- 
bauchery; of  my  being  banished  the  college;  the  bitter 
usage  I  underwent  when  I  returned  to  my  father — whip- 
ping, beating,  and  turning  me  out  of  doors  in  1662  ;  of  the 
Lord's  dealing  with  me  in  France,  and  in  the  time  of  the 
great  plague  in  London;  in  fine,  the  deep  sense  he  gave 
me  of  the  vanity  of  this  world,  of  the  irreligiousness  of  the 
religions  of  it.  Then  of  my  mournful  and  bitter  cries  to 
him  that  he  would  she-w  me  his  own  way  of  life  and  salva- 
tion, and  my  resolutions  to  follow  him,  whatever  reproaches 
or  sufferings  should  attend  me,  and  that  with  great  reve- 
rence and  brokenness  of  spirit.  How  after  all  this  the 
glory  of  the  world  overtook  me,  and  I  was  even  ready  to 
give  up  myself  unto  it,  seeing  as  yet  no  such  thing  as 
the  primitive  spirit  and  church  on  the  earth,  and  being 
ready  to  faint  concerning  my  hope  of  the  restitution  of  all 
things. 

"  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  Lord  visited  me  with  a  cer- 
tain sound  and  testimony  of  his  eternal  word  through  one 
of  those  the  world  calls  Quakers,  namely,  Thomas  Loe.  I 
related  to  them  the  bitter  mockings  and  scornings  that  fell 
upon  me,  the  displeasure  of  my  parents,  the  invectiveness 
and  cruelty  of  the  priests,  the  strangeness  of  all  my  com- 
panions.    What  a  sign  and  wonder  they  made  of  me ;  but, 


OF   WILLIAM    PENN.  17 

above  all,  that  great  cross  of  resisting  and  watching  against 
mine  own  inward  vain  afflictions  and  thoughts."     ■ 

I  feel  that  I  would  be  remiss  were  I  to  fail  to  make  an- 
other extract  from  his  writings  touching  upon  this  immediate 
subject;  a  lesson  so  well  calculated  to  encourage  all  those 
who  are  in  the  way  of  righteousness  to  persevere  therein  at 
all  hazards,  and  at  the  same  time  to  admonish  parents  and 
guardians  against  putting  obstacles  in  the  way  of  tenderly 
visited  minds.  He  says,  "My  own  father,  after  thirty 
years'  employment  with  good  success  in  divers  places  of 
eminent  trust  and  honour  in  his  own  country,  upon  serious 
reflection,  not  long  before  his  death,  spoke  to  me  in  this 
manner  :  '  Son  William,  I  am  weary  of  the  world  j  I  would 
not  live  over  my  days  again  if  I  could  command  them  with 
a  wish ;  for  the  snares  of  life  are  greater  than  the  fears  of 
death.  This  troubles  me,  that  I  have  offended  a  gracious 
God  that  has  followed  me  to  this  day.  Oh,  have  a  care  of 
sin  !  that  is  the  sting  both  of  life  and  death.  Three  things 
I  commend  to  you :  1.  Let  nothing  in  this  world  tempt 
you  to  wrong  your  conscience ;  I  charge  you  do  nothing 
against  your  conscience ;  so  will  you  keep  peace  at  home, 
which  will  be  a  feast  to  you  in  a  day  of  trouble.  2.  What- 
ever you  design  to  do,  lay  it  justly  and  time  it  seasonably, 
for  that  gives  security  and  despatch.  Lastly  :  Be  not  trou- 
bled at  disappointments ;  for  if  they  may  be  recovered,  do 
it ;  if  they  can't,  trouble  is  vain.  If  you  could  not  have 
helped  it,  be  content;  there  is  often  peace  and  profit  in  sub- 
mitting to  Providence ;  for  afflictions  make  wise.  If  you 
could  have  helped  it,  let  not  your  trouble  exceed  instruction 
for  another  time.  These  rules  will  carry  you  with  firmness 
and  comfort  through  this  inconstant  world/  At  another 
time  he  inveighed  against  the  profaneness  and  impiety  of 
the  age;  often  crying  out  with  an  earnestness  of  spirit, 
'  Wo  to  thee,  0  England  !  God  will  judge  thee,  0  England  ' 
Plagues  are  at  thy  door,  0  England  !'     He  much  bewailed 


18  A    BRIEF    MEMOIR 

that  divers  men  in  power,  and  many  of  the  nobility  and' 
gentry  of  the  Jdngdom  were  grown  so  dissolute  and  profane, 
often  saying,  '  God  has  forsaken  us,  we  are  infatuated,  we 
will  shut  our  eyes,  we  will  not  see  our  true  interests  and 
happiness ;  we  shall  be  destroyed  !'  Apprehending  the 
consequences  of  the  growing  looseness  of  the  age  to  be  our 
ruin,  and  that  the  methods  most  fit  to  serve  the  kingdom, 
with  true  credit  at  home  and  abroad,  were  too  much  neg- 
lected j  the  trouble  of  which  did  not  a  little  help  to  feed 
his  distemper,  which  drew  him  daily  nearer  to  his  end ;  and 
as  he  believed  it,  so  less  concerned  or  disordered  I  never 
saw  him  at  any  time ;  of  which  I  took  good  notice.  Wea- 
ried to  live,  as  well  as  near  to  die,  he  took  his  leave  of  us 
and  of  me  with  this  expression,  and  a  most  composed  coun- 
tenance :  '  Son  William,  if  you  and  your  friends  keep  to 
your  plain  way  of  preaching,  and  keep  to  your  plain  way  of 
living,  you  will  make  an  end  of  the  priests  to  the  end  of  the 
world.  Bury  me  by  mother.  Live  all  in  love.  Shun  all 
manner  of  evil.  And  I  pray  God  to  bless  you  all ;  and  he 
will  bless  you/  " 

He  died  on  Friday,  16th  September,  1670.  I  let  the 
reader  make  his  own  comment. 

Truly  man  sees  not  as  God  sees ;  and  would  it  be  too 
much  were  I  to  say  that  God  raised  up  William  Penn  for  a 
special  purpose,  as  he  did  Moses  ?  There  is  certainly  a 
very  striking  similarity  in  many  important  events  of  their 
lives.  Moses  was  brought  up  at  court;  the  same  may  be 
said  of  William  Penn.  Moses  could  look  forward  to  the 
time  when  he  could  enjoy  all  of  the  worldly  pleasures  this 
life  affords;  so  could  William  Penn.  The  popularity  and 
wealth  of  Sir  William  Penn,  and  the  great  obligations 
that  rested  on  Charles  II.,  as  well  as  his  inclination  to  pro- 
mote the  son,  rendered  it  plain  to  the  weakest  capacity  that 
worldly  glory  was  in  the  grasp  of  William  Penn. 

God   saw  proper  to  call  the  attention  of  Moses  to  the 


OF   WILLIAM    PENN.  19 

burning  bush,  yet  permitted  it  not  to  be  consumed.  This 
seems  to  be  the  starting-point  in  his  religious  life,  and  one, 
no  doubt,  to  which  he  often  recurred  when  his  faith  or  pa- 
tience wavered. 

God  kindled  in  the  bosom  of  William  Penn  a  fire  that 
was  to  him  as  remarkable  and  as  certain  a  beacon  in  after 
life  as  was  the  burning  bush  to  Moses,  with  this  difference, 
however,  in  favour  of  William  Penn,  his  fire  never  ceased  to 
burn  upon  the  altar  of  his  heart. 

How  beautifully  does  St.  Paul  describe  Moses  in  his 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  chap.  xi.  24-27  ! — "By  faith  Moses, 
when  he  was  come  to  years,  refused  to  be  called  the  son  of 
Pharaoh's  daughter;  choosing  rather  to  suffer  affliction  with 
the  people  of  God,  than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a 
season ;  esteeming  the  reproach  of  Christ  greater  riches  than 
the  treasures  of  Egypt :  for  he  had  respect  unto  the  recom- 
pense of  the  reward.  By  faith  he  forsook  Egypt,  not  fear- 
ing the  wrath  of  the  king :  for  he  endured,  as  seeing  Him 
who  is  invisible." 

I  will  also  record  here  what  William  Penn  said  of  Moses, 
after  speaking  of  Abraham  and  Job ;  he  said,  "  Moses  is  the 
next  great  example  in  sacred  story  for  remarkable  self-denial, 
before  the  times  of  Christ's  appearance  in  the  flesh.  He 
had  been  saved,  when  an  infant,  by  an  extraordinary  provi- 
dence )  and  it  seems,  by  what  follows,  for  an  extraordinary 
service.  Pharaoh's  daughter  (whose  compassion  was  the 
means  of  his  preservation  when  the  king  decreed  the  slaugh- 
ter of  the  Hebrew  males)  took  him  for  her  son,  and  gave  him 
the  education  of  her  father's  court.  His  own  graceful  pre- 
sence and  extraordinary  abilities,  joined  with  her  love  for 
him  and  interest  in  her  father  to  promote  him,  must  have 
rendered  him,  if  not  capable  of  succession,  at  least  of  being 
chief  minister  of  affairs  under  that  wealthy  and  powerful 
prince.  For  Egypt  was  then,  what  Athens  and  Rome  were 
alter,  the  most  famous  for  learning,  arts,  and  glory. 


20  A    BRIEF    MEMOIR 

"  But  Moses,  ordained  for  other  work,  and  guided  by  a 
better  star,  a  higher  principle,  no  sooner  came  to  years  of 
discretion,  than  the  impiety  of  Egypt  and  the  oppression  of 
his  brethren  there,  grew  a  burden  too  heavy  for  him  to 
bear.  And  though  so  wise  and  good  a  man  could  not  want 
those  generous  and  grateful  resentments  that  became  the 
kindness  of  the  king's  daughter  to  him,  yet  he  had  also  seen 
that  God  that  was  invisible,  and  did  not  dare  to  live  in  the 
ease  and  plenty  of  Pharaoh's  house  whilst  his  poor  brethren 
were  required  to  make  brick  without  straw. 

"  Thus  the  fear  of  the  Almighty  taking  deep  hold  of  his 
heart,  he  nobly  refused  to  be  called  the  son  of  Pliaraolis 
daughter,  and  chose  rather  a  life  of  affliction  with  the 
most  despised  and  opprest  Israelites,  and  to  be  the  compa- 
nions of  their  temptations  and  jeopardies,  than  to  enjoy  the 
pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season  :  esteeming  the  reproach  of 
Christ  (which  he  suffered  for  making  that  unworldly  choice) 
greater  riches  than  all  the  treasures  of  that  kingdom.  Nor 
was  he  so  foolish  as  they  thought  him.  He  had  reason  on 
his  side ;  for  it  is  said  he  had  an  eye  to  the  recompense  of 
the  reward  :  he  did  but  refuse  a  lesser  benefit  for  a  greater. 
In  this  his  wisdom  transcended  that  of  the  Egyptians,  for 
they  made  the  present  world  their  choice,  (as  uncertain  as 
the  weather,)  and  so  lost  that  which  has  no  end. 

"  Moses  looked  deeper,  and  weighed  the  enjoyments  of 
this  life  in  the  scales  of  eternity,  and  found  they  made  no 
weight  there.  He  governed  himself,  not  by  the  immediate 
possession,  but  the  nature  and  duration  of  the  reward.  His 
faith  corrected  his  affections,  and  taught  him  to  sacrifice  the 
pleasures  of  self  to  the  hope  he  had  of  a  future  more  excel- 
lent recompense." 

Permit  me  to  pursue  the  parallel.  By  faith  William 
Penn,  when  he  was  come  to  years,  refused  to  enjoy  the 
pleasures  of  the  court  of  Charles  the  Second;  choosing 
rather  to  suffer  affliction  with  the  people  of  God,  than  to 


OF   WILLIAM    PENN.  21 

enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season )  esteeming  the  re- 
proach of  Christ  greater  riches  than  all  the  honours  of 
England:  for  he  had  respect  unto  the  recompense  of  the 
reward.  By  faith  he  forsook  England,  not  fearing  the 
wrath  of  the  king  :  for  he  endured,  as  seeing  him  who  is 
invisible. 

What  a  remarkable  man,  and  what  a  remarkable  life  ! 
With  every  opportunity  for  the  enjoyment  of  all  that  world- 
lings could  desire,  he,  when  yet  a  youth,  renounces  them 
all,  and  incurs  the  absolute  displeasure  of  his  king  and 
father,  and  was  turned  out  of  doors ;  incurs  the  scoffs  and 
sneers  of  every  worldly-minded  man  at  home  and  abroad ; 
associates  with  the  low  and  humble#  and  despised  followers 
of  Jesus  Christ;  suffering  persecution  and  imprisonment 
joyfully. 

In  the  fulness  of  time,  however,  a  door  of  deliverance  is 
opened  for  him  and  his  oppressed  brethren.  The  second 
land  of  promise  is  in  view,  but  Penn  is  required  to  do  more 
than  Moses,  yet  his  faith  fails  not.  He  hesitates  not  to  em- 
bark a  very  large  portion  of  his  estate  (some  say  $200,000) 
in  a  wilderness  beyond  an  ocean  three  thousand  miles  in 
width,  inhabited  by  a  few  European  adventurers  and  hordes 
of  savages.     He  called  it  the  holy  experiment. 

I  will  here  insert  a  letter  which  was  written  by  him  at 
Chester,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  5th  of  the  12th  month, 
(February,)  1682,  which  will  explain  my  views  more  fully. 

My  Old  Friend  : — 

I  could  speak  largely  of  God's  dealings  with  me  in  get- 
ting this  thing.  What  an  inward  exercise  of  faith  and  pa- 
tience it  cost  me  in  passing.  The  travail  was  mine,  as  well 
as  the  debt  and  costs,  through  the  envy  of  many,  both  pro- 
fessors, false  friends,  and  profane.  My  God  hath  given  it 
me  in  the  face  of  the  world,  and  it  is  to  hold  it  in  true 
judgment,  as  a  reward  of  my  sufferings;  and  that  is  seen 


22  A    BRIEF    MEMOIR 

here,  whatever  some  despisers  may  say  or  think.  The 
place  God  has  given  me,  and  I  never  felt  judgment  for  the 
power  I  kept,  but  trouble  for  what  I  parted  with.  It  is 
more  than  a  worldly  title  or  patent  that  hath  called  me  in 
this  place. 

Keep  thy  place  :  I  am  in  mine,  and  have  served  the  God 
of  the  whole  earth  since  I  have  been  in  it ;  nor  am  I  sitting 
down  in  a  greatness  that  I  have  denied.  I  am,  day  and 
night,  spending  my  life,  my  time,  my  money,  and  am  not 
sixpence  enriched  by  this  greatness;  costs  in  getting,  set- 
tling, transportation,  and  maintenance  now  in  a  public  man- 
ner at  my  own  charge  duly  considered ;  to  say  nothing  of 
my  hazard  and  the  distance  I  am  from  a  considerable  estate, 
and,  which  is  more,  my  dear  wife  and  poor  children.  Well, 
the  Lord  is  a  God  of  righteous  judgment.  Had  I  sought 
greatness  I  had  stayed  at  home,  where  the  difference  between 
what  I  am  here  and  was  offered  and  could  have  been  there, 
in  power  and  wealth,  is  as  wide  as  the  places  are.  No,  I 
came  for  the  Lord's  sake,  and  therefore  have  I  stood  to  this 
day,  well,  and  diligent,  and  successful,  blessed  be  his  power. 
Nor  shall  I  trouble  myself  to  tell  thee  what  I  am  to  the  peo- 
ple of  this  place,  in  travails,  watchings,  spendings,  and  my 
servants  every  way,  freely,  (not  like  a  selfish  man,)  I  have 
many  witnesses. 

To  conclude,  it  is  now  in  friends'  hands.  Through  my 
travail,  faith,  and  patience,  it  came.  If  friends  here  keep 
to  God,  and  in  the  justice,  mercy,  equity  and  fear  of  the 
Lord,  their  enemies  will  be  their  footstool;  if  not,  their 
heirs,  and  my  heirs  too,  will  lose  all,  and  desolation  will  fol- 
low; but,  blessed  be  the  Lord,  we  are  well,  and  live  in  the 
dear  love  of  God,  and  the  fellowship  of  his  tender,  heavenly 
Spirit;  and  our  faith  is  for  ourselves  and  one  another,  that 
the  Lord  will  be  with  us  a  King  and  a  Counsellor  forever. 
Thy  ancient  though  grieved  friend, 

William  Penn. 


OF   WILLIAM    PENN.  23 

I  will  here  give  an  extract  from  his  writings,  to  show 
what  sustained  him  in  his  trials  and  tribulations. 

"  Wherefore,  my  dear  friends,  be  not  you  discomfited ; 
for  there  is  no  new  thing  happened  unto  you;  'tis  the 
ancient  path  of  the  righteous.  For  thy  sake,  says  David, 
have  - 1  borne  reproach  j  I  am  become  a  stranger  to  my 
brethren,  and  an  alien  to  my  mother's  children.  "When  I 
wept,  and  chastened  my  soul  with  fasting,  that  was  to  my 
reproach.  I  made  sackcloth  also  my  garment,  and  I  became 
a  proverb  to  them.  They  that  sit  in  the  gate  speak  against 
me  j  and  I  was  the  song  of  the  drunkard.  Save  me,  0  God, 
for  the  waters  are  come  in  unto  my  soul ;  and  the  water- 
floods  are  ready  to  swallow  me  up.  They  persecute  him 
whom  thou  hast  smitten  ;  and  they  talk  to  the  grief  of  those 
whom  thou  hast  wounded. 

"  Do  you  not  know  this,  dear  friends  ?  are  not  your  tears 
become  a  reproach,  your  fasts  a  wonder,  your  paleness  a  de- 
rision, your  plainness  a  proverb,  and  your  serious  and 
retired  conversation  a  by-word?  Yea,  when  the  Lord  hath 
wounded,  have  not  they  also  grieved  ?  And  when  the  Lord 
hath  smitten  you,  have  not  they  mocked  ?  But  this  was 
David's  joy,  The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd,  I  shall  not  want; 
he  restoreth  my  soul ;  he  leadeth  me  in  the  path  of  right- 
eousness for  his  name's  sake ;  he  maketh  me  to  lie  down  in 
green  pastures ;  he  leadeth  me  beside  the  still  waters.  Yea, 
though  I  walk  through  the  Valley  of  the  Shadow  of  Death, 
I  will  fear  no  evil ;  for  thou  art  with  me,  thy  rod  and  thy 
staff  comfort  me. 

"  Who  was  the  comforter  and  preserver  of  Shadrach,  Me- 
shach,  and  Abednego,  that  refused  to  obey  the  king's  com- 
mand against  the  commandment  of  God  ?  They  would  not 
bow  to  his  image ;  but  rather  chose  the  fiery  furnace  than 
to  commit  idolatry,  or  bow  to  another  thing  than  to  the 
living  God.  Did  not  we  cast  three  men  into  the  midst  of 
the  fire  ?  said  Nebuclnidnezzar ;  lo,  I  see  four  men  loose, 


24  A    BRIEF    MEMOIR 

walking  in  the  midst  of  the  fire,  and  they  have  no  hurt. 
And  the  form  of  the  fourth  is  like  the  Son  of  God. 

"  Oh !  my  friends,  the  fire  obeyeth  him,  as  well  as  the 
winds  and  seas.  All  power  is  given  to  the  Son  of  God, 
who  is  given  to  you  for  your  salvation.  Well,  Shadrach, 
Meshach,  and  Abednego  the  king  calleth  out  of  the  fire, 
and  they  have  no  harm,  though  the  mighty  men  that  cast 
them  into  the  fiery  furnace  were  consumed.  The  God  of 
Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abednego  is  by  the  king  highly 
preferred.  Here  is  the  end  of  faithfulness;  here  is  the 
blessing  of  perseverance.  God  will  bring  honour  to  his  name, 
through  the  patience  and  integrity  of  his  people. 

"  And  it  was  this  Son  of  God  that  preserved  Daniel  in  the 
lion's  den ;  it  was  his  voice,  that  David  said,  divideth  the 
flames  of  fire;  he  rideth  upon  the  winds,  he  sitteth  upon 
the  floods.  The  voice  of  the  Lord  is  powerful;  the  voice 
of  the  Lord  is  full  of  majesty.  They  that  trust  in  him  shall 
never  be  confounded.  Blessed  are  they  whose  God  is  the 
Lord  :  for  he  is  a  present  help  in  the  needful  time  of  trou- 
ble. The  angel  of  the  Lord  encampeth  round  about  them 
that  fear  him,  and  he  delivereth  them.  Oh  !  taste  and  see 
that  the  Lord  is  good.  Blessed  is  the  man  that  trusteth  in 
him.  Oh !  fear  the  Lord,  for  there  is  no  want  to  them  that 
fear  him.  The  young  lions  shall  lack,  and  the  old  lions 
suffer  hunger,  but  they  that  seek  the  Lord  shall  not  want 
for  any  good  thing.  Many  are  the  afflictions  of  the  right- 
eous, but  the  Lord  delivereth  them  out  of  all ;  for  the  Lord 
redeemeth  the  souls  of  his  servants,  and  none  of  them  that 
trust  in  him  shall  be  made  desolate.  For  which  cause,  my 
dear  friends,  cast  away  every  weight,  and  every  burden,  and 
the  sin  that  doth  so  easily  beset  you.  Neither  look  at  the 
enemies'  strength,  nor  at  your  own  weakness ;  but  look  unto 
Jesus,  the  blessed  Author  of  your  convincement  and  faith  : 
the  mighty  one,  on  whom  God  hath  laid  help  for  all  those 
that  believe  in  his  name,  receive  his  testimony,  and  live  in 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  ZD 

his  doctrine;  who  said  to  his  dear  followers  of  old,  Be  of 
good  cheer,  I  have  overcome  the  world.  Fear  not,  little 
flock;  it  is  your  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  you  the 
kingdom ;  and  they  that  endure  to  the  end  shall  be  saved. 
I  will  not  leave  you  comfortless,  said  he  ;  I  will  come  to  you  ; 
he  that  is  with  you  shall  be  in  you. 

"■  This  was  the  hope  of  their  glory,  the  foundation  of  then 
building,  which  standeth  sure.  And  though  sorrow  cometh 
over  night,  yet  joy  shall  come  in  the  morning.  Ye  shall 
weep  and  lament,  said  Jesus,  but  the  world  shall  rejoice, 
and  ye  shall  be  sorrowful,  but  your  sorrow  shall  be  turned 
into  joy,  and  their  rejoicing  into  howling.  And,  lo  !  I  am 
with  you  to  the  end  of  the  world. 

"  Be  ye,  therefore,  encouraged  in  the  holy  way  of  the  Lord ; 
wait  diligently  for  his  daily  manifestations  unto  your  souls, 
that  you  may  be  strengthened  in  your  inward  man,  with 
might  and  power  to  do  the  will  of  God  on  earth  as  it  is 
done  in  heaven.  Oh  !  watch  that  you  enter  not  into  temp- 
tation; yea,  watch  unto  prayer  that  you  enter  not  into  temp- 
tation, and  that  you  fail  not  by  the  temptation. 

"  Christ  said  to  Peter,  canst  not  thou  watch  one  hour  ? 
Every  one  hath  an  hour  of  temptation  to  go  through ;  and 
this  is  the  hour  that  every  one  is  to  watch.  Jesus,  the 
Captain  of  our  salvation,  was  under  great  temptations ;  he 
was  sad  unto  death;  he  did  sweat  drops  of  blood,  but  he 
watched,  he  prayed,  he  groaned ;  yea,  he  cried  with  strong 
cries ;  but  through  suffering  overcame ;  and  remember  how 
in  the  wilderness  he  was  tempted,  but  the  angels  of  the 
Lord  ministered  to  him.  So  they  that  follow  him  in  the 
way  of  the  tribulations  and  patience  of  his  kingdom,  God's 
angels  shall  minister  unto  them  all ;  yea,  he  will  keep  them 
in  the  hour  of  temptation ;  he  will  carry  their  heads  above 
the  waters  and  deliver  them  from  the  devouring  floods. 

"  Wherefore,  finally,  my  friends,  I  say  unto  you  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  Be  of  good  cheer !    Look  to  Jesus,  and 

3 


26  A    BRIEF    MEMOIll 

fear  not  man,  whose  breath  is  in  his  nostrils.  But  be  va- 
liant for  the  truth  on  earth.  Love  not  your  lives  unto  the 
death,  and  you  shall  receive  a  crown  of  life  and  glory,  which 
the  God  of  the  fathers,  the  God  of  the  prophets,  the  God 
of  the  apostles,  and  the  God  of  the  martyrs,  the  true  con- 
fessors of  Jesus ;  yea,  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  shall  give  unto  all  those  that  keep  the  pure 
testimony  of  his  Son  in  their  hearts  and  patiently  and  faith- 
fully endure  to  the  end. 

"  Now  to  Him  who  is  able  to  keep  you  from  falling,  and  to 
present  you  faultless  before  the  presence  of  his  glory  with 
exceeding  joy ;  to  the  only  wise  God,  our  Saviour,  be  glory  and 
majesty,  dominion  and  power,  both  now  and  ever.     Amen. 

"  I  am  your  friend  that  sincerely  loves  you,  and  earnestly 
travails  for  your  redemption,  William  Penn." 


CHAPTER   III. 

"All  deprav'd, 
Justice  and  temp'rance,  truth  and  faith  forgot, 
One  man  except,  the  only  son  of  light 
In  a  dark  age,  against  example,  good ; 
Against  allurement,  custom,  and  the  world 
Offended;  fearless  of  reproach  and  scorn, 
Or  violence,  he  of  their  wicked  ways 
Shall  them  admonish,  and  before  them  set 
The  paths  of  righteousness,  how  much  more  safe 
And  full  of  peace,  denouncing  wrath  to  come 
On  their  impenitence,-  and  shall  return 
Of  them  derided,  but  of  God  observ'd." 

*  *  *  *  * 

To  teach  thee  that  God  attributes  to  place 
No  sanctity,  if  none  be  thither  brought, 
By  men  who  there  frequent  or  therein  dwell. 
And  now  what  further  shall  ensue,  behold." — Paradise  Lost. 

The  history  of  the  transaction  in  regard  to  the  purchase 
of  Pennsylvania,  as  recorded  in  an  early  "  Life  of  William 


OP    WILLIAM    PENN.  27 

Ponu/'  is  as  follows: — "King  Charles  the  Second,  in  con- 
sideration of  the  services  of  Sir  William  Penn,  and  sundry 
debts  due  to  him  from  the  crown  at  the  time  of  his  decease,  by 
letters-patent,  bearing  date  the  4th  day  of  March,  1680-81, 
granted  to  William  Penn  and  his  heirs  that  province  lying 
on  the  west  side  of  the  river  Delaware  in  North  America, 
formerly  belonging  to  the  Dutch,  and  then  called  the  New 
Netherlands  "  The  name  was  now  changed  by  the  king,  in 
honor  of  William  Penn,  whom,  and  his  heirs,  he  made  ab- 
solute proprietors  and  governors  of  it.  Upon  this,  he  pre- 
sently published  an  account  of  the  province  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, with  the  king's  patent,  and  other  papers  relating  thereto, 
describing  the  country  and  its  produce,  and  proposing  an 
easy  purchase  of  lands,  offering  100  acres  for  40  shillings, 
or  5000  acres  for  £100,  and  good  terms  of  settlement 
for  such  as  might  incline  to  transport  themselves.  Many 
single  persons  and  some  families  out  of  England  and  Wales 
went  over,  and  with  singular  industry  and  application  hav- 
ing cleared  their  purchased  lands,  settled  and  soon  improved 
plantations  to  good  advantage,  and  began  to  build  the  city 
of  Philadelphia  in  a  commodious  situation  on  the  aforesaid 
navigable  river  Delaware. 

And  to  secure  the  new  planters  from  the  native  Indians, 
(who  in  some  other  provinces  being  injuriously  dealt  with, 
had  made  reprisals  to  the  loss  of  many  lives,)  the  governor 
gave  orders  to  treat  them  with  all  candour  and  humanity ; 
and  appointed  commissioners  to  confer  with  them  about 
land,  and  to  confirm  a  league  of  peace,  by  whom  he  also 
sent  the  following  letter  : — 

WILLIAM    PENN'S    LETTER   TO    THE    INDIANS. 

London,  the  18th  of  the  8th  month,  1681. 

My  Friends  : 

There  is  a  great  God  and  power  that  hath  made  the 
world  and  all  things  therein,  to  whom  you  and  I  and  all 


28  A    BRIEF    MEMOIR 

people  owe  their  being  and  well-being,  and  to  whom  you 
and  I  must  give  an  account  for  all  that  we  do  in  the  world. 
This  great  God  hath  written  his  law  in  our  hearts,  by  which 
we  are  taught  and  commanded  to  love  and  help,  and  do  good 
to  one  another  and  not  to  do  harm  and  mischief  one  unto 
another.  Now  this  great  God  hath  been  pleased  to  make 
me  concerned  in  your  part  of  the  world,  and  the  king  of  the 
country  where  I  live  hath  given  me  a  great  province  therein, 
but  I  desire  to  enjoy  it  with  your  love  and  consent,  that  we 
may  always  live  together  as  neighbours  and  friends;  else 
what  would  the  great  God  do  to  us?  who  hath  made  us  not 
to  devour  and  destroy  one  another,  but  to  live  soberly  and 
kindly  together  in  the  world.  Now  I  would  have  you  well 
observe,  that  I  am  very  sensible  of  the  unkindness  and  in- 
justice that  hath  been  too  much  exercised  towards  you  by 
the  people  of  these  parts  of  the  world,  who  have  sought 
themselves,  and  to  make  great  advantages  of  you,  rather 
than  to  be  examples  of  justice  and  goodness  unto  you,  which 
I  hear  hath  been  matters  of  trouble  to  you,  and  caused 
great  grudgings  and  animosities,  sometimes  to  the  shedding 
of  blood,  which  hath  made  the  great  God  angry.  But  I 
am  not  such  a  man,  as  is  well  known  in  my  own  country. 
I  have  great  love  and  regard  towards  you,  and  I  desire  to 
win  and  gain  your  love  and  friendship  by  a  kind,  just,  and 
peaceable  life,  and  the  people  I  send  are  of  the  same  mind, 
and  shall  in  all  things  behave  themselves  accordingly,  and 
if  in  any  thing  any  shall  offend  you  or  your  people,  you 
shall  have  a  full  and  speedy  satisfaction  for  the  same  by  an 
equal  number  of  just  men  on  both  sides,  that  by  no  means 
you  may  have  just  occasion  of  being  offended  against  them. 
I  shall  shortly  come  to  you  myself,  at  what  time  we  may 
more  largely  and  freely  confer  and  discourse  of  these  mat- 
ters; in  the  mean  time  I  have  sent  my  commissioners  to 
treat  with  you  about  land,  and  a  firm  league  of  peace.  Let 
me  desire  you  to  be  kind  to  them  and  the  people,  and  receive 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  29 

these  presents  and  tokens  which  I  have  sent  you,  as  a  testi- 
mony of  my  good  will  to  you,  and  my  resolution  to  live 
justly,  peaceably,  and  friendly  with  you. 

I  am  your  loving  friend, 

William  Penn. 

His  friendly  and  pacific  manner  of  teaching  the  In- 
dians begat  in  them  an  extraordinary  love  and  regard  to 
him  and  his  people,  so  that  they  have  maintained  a  perfect 
amity  with  the  English  of  Pennsylvania  ever  since.  And 
'tis  observable,  that  upon  renewing  the  treaty  with  the  pre- 
sent governor,  Sir  William  Keith,  Bar.,  in  1722,  they  men- 
tion the  name  of  William  Penn  with  much  gratitude  and 
affection,  calling  him  a  good  man,  and  as  their  highest  com- 
pliment to  Sir  William  use  this  expression,  "  We  esteem 
and  love  you  as  if  you  were  William  Penn  himself.  So 
universally  doth  a  principle  of  peace,  justice,  and  morality 
operate  on  the  hearts  even  of  those  we  call  heathens." 

He  also  drew  up  the  fundamental  constitution  of  Penn- 
sylvania in  twenty-four  articles,  consented  to  and  subscribed 
by  the  first  adventurers  and  freeholders  of  that  province,  as 
the  ground  and  rule  of  all  future  government :  the  first 
of  which  articles,  showing  that  his  principle  was  to  give  as 
well  as  take  liberty  of  conscience  in  matters  of  religion,  we 
shall  transcribe. 

THE    FIRST    CONSTITUTION. 

In  reverence  to  God,  the  Father  of  light  and  spirits,  the 
author  as  well  as  object  of  all  divine  knowledge,  faith,  and 
worship,  I  do  for  me  and  mine  declare  and  establish  for  the 
first  fundamental  of  the  government  of  this  country,  that 
any  person  that  doth  or  shall  reside  therein  shall  have  and 
enjoy  the  free  profession  of  his  or  her  faith  and  exercise 
of  worship  toward  God  in  such  way  and  manner  as  any 
such  person  shall  in  conscience  believe  is  most  acceptable 

3* 


30  A    BRIEF    MEMOIR 

to  God.  And  so  long  as  any  such  person  useth  not  this 
Christian  liberty  to  licentiousness,  or  the  destruction  of 
others,  that  is  to  say,  to  speak  loosely  and  profanely  or  con- 
temptuously of  God,  Christ,  the  Holy  Scriptures,  or  reli- 
gion, or  commit  any  moral  evil  or  injury  against  others  in 
their  conversation,  he  or  she  shall  be  protected  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  aforesaid  Christian  liberty  by  the  civil  magis- 
trate. 

In  the  next  year,  1682,  he  published  the  frame  of  go- 
vernment of  Pennsylvania,  containing  twenty-four  articles 
somewhat  varying  from  the  aforesaid  constitutions,  together 
with  certain  other  laws  to  the  number  of  forty,  agreed  on 
in  England  by  the  governor  and  diverse  freemen  of  the  said 
province.     Of  which  laws  one  was 

That  all  persons  living  in  this  province,  who  confess  and 
acknowledge  the  one  almighty  and  eternal  God  to  be  the 
Creator  and  upholder  and  ruler  of  the  world,  and  that  hold 
themselves  obliged  in  conscience  to  live  peaceably  and  justly 
in  civil  society,  shall  in  nowise  be  molested  or  prejudiced 
for  their  religious  persuasion,  or  practice  in  matters  of  faith 
and  worship;  nor  shall  they  be  compelled  at  any  time  to 
frequent  or  maintain  any  religious  worship,  place,  or  minis- 
try whatsoever. 

In  the  6th  month,  (August,)  1682,  William  Penn  with 
many  of  his  friends  sailed  for  his  province ;  in  six  weeks 
they  saw  the  American  coast.  Sailing  up  the  Delaware,  the 
inhabitants,  Swedes,  Dutch  and  English  received  him  with 
many  demonstrations  of  joy.  He  landed  at  New  Castle, 
which  was  principally  inhabited  by  Dutch,  and  the  next 
day  he  summoned  the  people  to  the  court-house  where  pos- 
session of  the  country  was  legally  given  him.  He  then 
sailed  for  Upland,  or  Optland,  now  Chester,  where  he  called 
an  Assembly,  and  declared  his  purpose  of  coming  among 
them,  and  the  ends  of  his  government,  giving  them  assu- 
rances of  a  free  enjoyment  of  liberty  of  conscience  in  things 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  31 

spiritual  and  of  civil  freedom  in  temporal,  and  recommended 
to  them  to  live  in  sobriety  and  peace  one  with  another,  and 
received  their  thankful  acknowledgments,  1681. 

Now  began  that  remarkable  event,  the  Exodus  of  the 
Quakers,  and  so  extensive  was  it  that  William  Penn,  in  a 
letter  to  the  Marquis  of  Halifax,  written  on  the  9th  of  the 
12th  month,  (February,)  1683,  says :  "  I  must  without 
vanity  say  I  have  led  the  greatest  colony  into  America  that 
ever  any  man  did  upon  a  private  credit,  and  the  most  pros- 
perous beginnings  that  ever  were  in  it  are  to  be  found 
among  us."  He  also  added,  "  Since  last  summer  we  have 
had  about  sixty  sail  of  great  and  small  shipping." 

The  emigration  was  not  confined  to  England,  it  exte€ded 
to  Germany,  Ireland,  Holland,  and  Wales,  which  must  have 
been  very  gratifying  to  the  founder,  for  he  came,  he  said, 
into  the  charge  of  the  province  "  for  the  Lord's  sake.  He 
hoped,  under  the  Divine  aid,  to  have  raised  up  a  people  who 
should  have  been  a  praise  in  the  earth  for  conduct,  as  well 
as  for  civil  and  religious  liberty."  He  said,  "  I  wanted  to 
afford  an  asylum  to  the  good  and  oppressed  of  every  nation. 
I  aimed  to  frame  a  government  which  might  be  an  example. 
I  desired  to  show  men  as  free  and  happy  as  they  could  be." 

What  a  beautiful  example  he  set  before  our  Revolutionary 
fathers  !  and  to  their  everlasting  credit  may  it  be  remem- 
bered that  they  had  wisdom  and  goodness  sufficient  to  act 
upon  it,  and  did  really  contribute  not  only  to  make  the  land 
of  Penn  an  asylum  to  the  good  and  oppressed  of  every  na- 
tion, but  extended  the  noble  cognomen  over  all  the  territory 
of  the  United  States,  and  the  identical  idea  William  Penn 
expressed  near  two  hundred  years  ago,  is  now  the  most  glo- 
rious name  our  beloved  country  is  known  by  throughout  the 
earth,  viz. :  u  The  Asylum  to  the  Good  and  Oppressed  of 
every  Nation."  Will  the  beneficiaries  have  wisdom  and 
goodness  sufficient  to  perpetuate  it  ? 

He  planned  the  city  of  Philadelphia  and  named  it,  and 


32  A    BRIEF    MEMOIR 

in  two  years  it  contained  2000  inhabitants.  He  remained 
in  America  about  two  years,  in  which  time  he  succeeded  in 
establishing  his  laws  and  inculcating  a  spirit  of  love  and 
harmony  not  only  among  the  various  sects  and  denomina- 
tions that  had  arrived  from  Europe,  but  even  with  the  In- 
dians, and  all  things  being  in  a  prosperous  condition  he 
returned,  arriving  in  England  on  the  12th  of  the  6th 
month,  (August,)  1684. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


"  Many  are  the  afflictions  of  the  righteous,  but  the  Lord  delivereth 
him  out  of  them  all." — Psalm  xxxiv.  19. 

On  Friday,  the  6th  day  of  the  12th  month  following, 
(February,)  1685,  King  Charles  the  Second  died,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  brother,  the  Duke  of  York,  by  the  name 
of  King  James  the  Second,  who  being  a  professed  papist, 
his  accession  to  the  crown  filled  the  people  with  just  appre- 
hensions and  fears  lest  he  should  establish  his  own  religion 
by  the  destruction  of  others;  and  had  William  Penn  at  that 
time  fomented  the  general  uneasiness  by  encouraging  multi- 
tudes then  upon  the  wing,  he  might,  as  he  himself  said,  have 
put  many  thousands  of  people  into  his  province  and  £2000 
into  his  pockets.  His  not  doing  it,  is  sufficient  proof  that 
it  was  not  wealth  or  fame  that  first  brought  him  to  America. 

Because  James  the  Second,  who  was  a  Catholic,  esteemed 
him  highly,  treating  him  with  marked  respect  and  atten- 
tion, his  enemies  fabricated  the  charge  of  papist  against 
him,  notwithstanding  he  had  been  so  bold  against  that  per- 
suasion. He,  however,  soon  silenced  them  and  continued 
his  labours  of  love — preaching,  travelling,  and  writing. 
Among  his  writings  was  a  persuasion  to  moderation  toward 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  33 

dissenting  Christians,  in  prudence  and  conscience,  which  he 
humbly  submitted  to  the  king  and  bis  great  council,  in  which 
he  confutes  the  several  plans  for  persecution,  and  confirms 
his  own  argument  for  toleration  by  the  testimony  of  emi- 
nent authors  and  the  examples  of  flourishing  kingdoms 
and  states,  and  shows  the  dismal  effects  of  the  contrary. 
A  treatise  well  worthy  the  reader's  serious  perusal. 

On  the  14th  of  March,  1685-6,  came  forth  the  king's  pro- 
clamation for  a  general  pardon,  and  instructions  being  given 
to  the  judges  of  assizes  in  their  several  circuits  to  extend 
the  benefit  of  it  to  the  Quakers ;  about  thirteen  hundred 
of  that  persuasion,  many  of  whom  had  been  imprisoned  for 
years,  were  set  at  liberty.  On  the  4th  of  April,  1687,  the 
king  issued  a  declaration  for  liberty  of  conscience,  suspend- 
ing the  execution  of  all  penal  laws  in  ecclesiastical  matters. 

This  was  followed  by  an  address  of  thanks  to  the  king 
from  the  annual  Assembly  of  Friends  held  in  London,  who 
deputed  William  Penn  and  others  to  present  it.  On  the 
27th  of  April,  1688,  King  James  renewed  his  declaration 
for  liberty  of  conscience,  with  an  order  of  council  for  the 
reading  of  it  in  churches,  against  which  seven  bishops  peti- 
tioning were  committed  to  the  Tower.  On  the  5th  of  No- 
vember, 1688,  William,  Prince  of  Orange,  landed  at  Tor- 
bay,  in  Devonshire,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  English  nation. 
James  the  Second  withdrew  to  France,  and  on  the  13th  of 
February,  1688-9,  William  and  his  spouse,  Mary,  King 
James's  daughter,  were  proclaimed  King  and  Queen  of  Eng- 
land, &c.  Of  this  change  the  enemies  of  William  Penn 
took  advantage,  charging  him  with  disaffection  to  the  pre- 
sent government,  and  had  him  arrested  on  the  10th  of  De- 
cember, 1688.  Nothing  was  proved  against  him,  yet  his 
strong  assurances  failed  to  convince  the  council  that  he  loved 
his  country  and  the  Protestant  religion  above  his  life,  and 
they  obliged  him  to  give  sureties  for  his  appearance  the  first 
day  of  the  next  term,  which  he  did,  and  then  was  con- 


34  A    BRIEF    MEMOIR 

tinued  on  the  same  security  to  Easter  term  following,  on 
the  last  day  of  which,  nothing  having  been  laid  to  his  charge, 
he  was  cleared  in  open  court. 

In  the  year  1690  he  was  again  brought  before  the  lords 
of  the  council,  upon  an  accusation  of  holding  correspondence 
with  the  late  King  James,  and  they  requiring  sureties  for 
his  appearance,  he  appealed  to  King  William  himself,  who 
after  a  conference  of  near  two  hours  inclined  to  acquit  him; 
but  to  please  some  of  the  council  he  was  held  upon  bail  for  a 
while,  and  in  Trinity  term  the  same  year  again  discharged. 

He  was  attacked  a  third  time,  and  his  name  inserted  in  a 
proclamation,  dated  July  18th,  wherein  he,  with  divers  lords 
and  others,  to  the  number  of  eighteen,  were  charged  with 
adhering  to  the  enemies  of  the  king;  but  proof  failing  re- 
specting him,  he  was  again  cleared  by  order  of  the  king's 
bench  court  at  Westminster,  on  the  last  day  of  Michaelmas 
term,  1690. 

Being  now  at  liberty,  he  proposed  visiting  Pennsylvania 
the  second  time,  and  published  printed  proposals  for  another 
settlement  there.  He  had  so  far  prepared  for  his  transpor- 
tation that  an  order  for  the  convoy  was  granted  him  by  the 
secretary  of  state,  when  his  voyage  was  prevented  by  a  fresh 
accusation  against  him,  backed  by  the  oath  of  one  William 
Fuller, — a  WRETCH,  afterward  by  Parliament  declared  a 
CHEAT  and  IMPOSTOR, — and  a  warrant  was  thereupon 
granted  for  his  apprehension,  which  he  narrowly  escaped  at 
his  return  from  Gr.  Fox's  burial,  on  the  16th  of  January, 
1691.  He  prudently  retired  for  a  few  years,  during  which 
time  he  applied  himself  to  writing,  and  on  the  30th  of  the 
3d  month,  (May,)  1691,  addressed  the  following  epistle  to 
the  yearly  meeting  in  London  : — 

My  beloved,  dear,  and  honoured  Brethren  : — 

My  unchangeable  love  salutes  you ;  and  though  I  am  ab- 
sent from  you,  yet  I  feel  the  sweet  and  lowly  life  of  your 


OF    WILLIAM    PBNN.  35 

heavenly  fellowship,  by  which  I  am  with  you  and  a  par- 
taker amongst  you,  whom  I  have  loved  above  my  chiefest 
joy.  Receive  no  evil  surmisings,  neither  suffer  hard  thoughts, 
through  the  insinuations  of  any,  to  enter  your  minds  against 
me,  your  afflicted  but  not  forsaken  friend  and  brother.  My 
enemies  are  yours,  and  in  the  ground  mine  for  your  sakes, 
and  that  God  seeth  in  secret,  and  will  one  day  reward  openly. 
My  privacy  is  not  because  men  have  sworn  truly,  but  falsely 
against  me.  For  wicked  men  have  laid  in  wait  for  me,  and 
false  witnesses  have  laid  to  my  charge  things  that  I  knew  not, 
who  have  never  sought  myself,  but  the  good  of  all,  through 
great  exercises,  and  have  done  some  good,  and  would  have 
done  more,  and  hurt  no  man,  but  always  desired  that  truth 
and  righteousness,  mercy  and  peace,  might  take  place  amongst 
us.  Feel  me  near  you,  and  lay  me  near  you,  dear  and  be- 
loved brethren,  and  leave  me  not ;  neither  forsake,  but  wres- 
tle with  Him  that  is  able  to  prevail  against  the  cruel  desires 
of  some,  that  we  may  yet  meet  in  the  congregations  of  his 
people,  as  in  days  past,  to  our  mutual  comfort.  The  ever- 
lasting God  of  his  chosen  in  all  generations  be  in  the  midst 
of  you,  and  crown  your  most  solemn  assemblies  with  his 
blessed  presence,  that  his  tender,  meek,  lowly,  and  heavenly 
love  and  life  may  flow  among  you ;  and  that  he  would  please 
to  make  it  a  seasoning  and  fruitful  opportunity  for  you,  that, 
edified  and  comforted,  you  may  return  home  to  his  glorious 
high  praise,  who  is  worthy  forever !  To  whom  I  commit 
you,  desiring  to  be  remembered  of  you  before  him,  in  the 
nearest  and  freshest  accesses,  who  cannot  forget  you  in  the 
nearest  relation. 

Your  faithful  friend  and  brother, 

William  Penn. 

By  the  interposition  of  friends,  he  was  granted  an  audi- 
ence with  the  king  and  council,  in  the  latter  part  of  1693, 
when  he  established  his  innocency  and  was  acquitted.     The 


36  A   BRIEF    MEMOIR 

sad  and  melancholy  bereavement  which  now  awaited  him 
is  thus  recorded  by  himself : — 

"  My  dear  wife,  after  eight  months'  illness,  (though  she 
never  perfectly  recovered  her  weakness  the  year  before, 
which  held  her  about  six  months,)  departed  this  life  on  the 
23d  of  the  12th  month,  1693-4,  about  half  an  Lour  past 
two  in  the  afternoon,  being  the  sixth  day  of  the  week,  and 
in  the  fiftieth  year  of  her  age,  and  was  sensible  to  the  very 
last."  Her  maiden  name  was  Gulielma  Maria  Springett, 
the  step-daughter  of  Isaac  Pennington,  a  ministering  Friend. 
They  had  lived  in  the  most  happy  manner  in  the  holy 
estate  of  wedlock  about  twenty  years.  He  bears  ample  tes- 
timony to  her  happy  exit  from  time  to  eternity.  He  now 
continued  to  write,  preach,  and  travel,  not,  however,  escap- 
ing arrests  and  other  hinderances. 

On  the  5th  of  the  1st  month,  (March,)  1695-6,  he 
consummated  his  second  marriage,  at  Bristol,  with  Hannah, 
the  daughter  of  Thomas  Callowhill,  with  whom  he  lived 
during  the  remainder  of  his  life,  and  by  whom  he  had  four 
sons  and  one  daughter. 

In  April,  1696,  his  eldest  son  by  his  first  wife  died;  his 
name  was  Springett,  aged  twenty-one  years.  "This  year 
he  published  a  treatise,  entitled,  Primitive  Christianity  Re- 
vived, in  the  Faith  and  Practice  of  the  People  called  Qua- 
kers. A  book  which  rightly  represented  that  people's  prin- 
ciples, and  hath  been  serviceable  to  the  information  of 
many."  This  is  the  book  I  now  reprint,  with  the  hope 
that  it  may  prove  serviceable  to  the  information  of  many 
more. 

Ou  the  9th  day  of  September,  1699,  himself  and  family 
set  sail  for  his  province  of  Pennsylvania.  They  were  nearly 
three  months  at  sea;  the  great  length  of  the  voyage  saved 
them  from  the  danger  of  a  contagious  disease,  the  yellow 
fever,  that  reigned  in  the  province.  When  they  arrived  it 
was  over,  and  they  were  received  with  the  universal  joy  of 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  37 

the  inhabitants.  Intending  to  remain  in  the  province,  he 
gave  attention  to  all  of  its  interests.  But  immediately  some 
persons  in  England,  taking  advantage  of  his  absence,  endea- 
voured to  undermine  the  proprietary  governments.  Repre- 
sentations were  soon  made  to  the  Parliament,  and  time  soli- 
cited for  his  return  to  answer  for  himself.  He  was  pressed 
to  return  forthwith ;  seeing  it  necessary  to  comply,  he  sum- 
moned an  assembly  to  meet  at  Philadelphia,  to  whom,  on 
the  15th  of  September,  1701,  he  made  a  speech,  setting  forth 
the  condition  of  the  province,  the  necessity  of  his  return  to 
England,  the  great  and  abiding  interest  he  felt  in  their 
welfare,  tendering  them  his  aid  to  secure  their  privileges 
and  property  in  any  and  every  way  in  his  power  that  they 
might  suggest.     To  which  he  received  the  following  reply : 

May  it  please  the  Proprietary  and  Governor: — 

We  have  this  day  in  our  assembly  read  thy  speech  delivered 
(yesterday)  in  council ;  and  having  duly  considered  the  same, 
cannot  but  be  under  a  deep  sense  of  sorrow  for  thy  purpose 
of  so  speedily  leaving  us,  and  at  the  same  time  taking  notice 
of  thy  parental  regard  to  us  and  to  our  posterity,  the  free- 
holders of  this  province  and  territories  annexed,  in  thy  lov- 
ing and  kind  expressions  of  being  ready  to  comply  with 
whatsoever  expedient  and  provisions  we  shall  offer  for  our 
safety  as  well  in  privileges  as  property,  and  what  else  may 
render  us  happy  in  a  nearer  union  of  our  interests,  not 
doubting  the  performance  of  what  thou  hast  been  solemnly 
pleased  to  promise,  do  in  much  humility,  and  as  a  token 
of  our  gratitude,  return  unto  thee  the  unfeigned  thanks  of 
this  house.  Subscribed  by  order  of  the  House, 

Joseph  Growdon,  Speaker. 

The  next  month,  October,  he  sailed  for  England,  and 
arrived  about  the  middle  of  December  at  Portsmouth  and 
proceeded  to  London.      After  his  return  the  bill  was  wholly 


38  A    BRIEF    MEMOIR 

dropped,  and  never  revived.  Upon  the  death  of  King  Wil- 
liam, which  occurred  on  the  8th  of  March,  1701-2,  the 
Princess  Anne  of  Denmark  ascended  the  throne.  She  be- 
gan her  reign  with  moderation  and  clemency,  maintaining 
the  Act  of  Toleration.  William  Penn  was  in  her  favour,  and 
often  at  court.  He  continued  to  preach,  and  write,  and 
travel,  until  about  the  year  1709,  when  the  infirmities  of 
age  began  to  visit  him. 

In  1710,  he,  for  a  better  atmosphere,  left  the  vicinity  of 
London,  and  took  a  handsome  seat  at  Ruscombe,  near  Troy- 
ford,  in  Buckinghamshire,  where  he  resided  until  his  death. 
In  1712,  he  had  three  several  fits,  supposed  to  be  apoplec- 
tic, by  which  his  understanding  and  memory  were  so  im- 
paired as  to  render  him  incapable  of  public  action  for  the 
future.  He  continued  to  fail  by  degrees  for  the  space  of 
about  six  years,  until,  the  30th  of  the  fifth  month,  (July,) 
1718,  in  the  71th  year  of  his  age,  his  soul,  prepared  for  a 
more  glorious  habitation,  forsook  the  decayed  tenement, 
which  was  committed  to  the  earth  on  the  5th  of  the  6th 
month,  at  St.  Jordan's,  in  Buckinghamshire,  where  his 
former  wife  and  several  of  his  family  had  been  buried. 

CHARACTER   OF    WILLIAM    PENN — BY    EDMUND   BURKE. 

William  Penn,  as  a  legislator,  deserves  great  honour  among 
mankind.  He  created  a  commonwealth  which,  from  a  few 
hundreds  of  indigent  refugees,  have  in  seventy  years  grown 
to  a  numerous  and  flourishing  people.  A  people  who  from 
a  wilderness  have  brought  their  territory  to  a  state  of  high 
cultivation,  filled  it  with  wealthy  and  populous  towns,  and 
who,  in  the  midst  of  a  fierce  and  lawless  race  of  men,  have 
preserved  themselves,  with  unarmed  hand,  by  the  rules  of 
justice  and  MODERATION,  better  than  any  other  have 
done  by  policy  and  arms.  The  way  in  which  he  did  this 
deserves  eternal  notice.  Though  brought  up,  as  it  were, 
in  the  corrupt  courts  of  Charles  the  Second,  who  had  en- 


OF    WILLIAM    PBNN.  39 

deavoured  to  carry  the  kingly  prerogative  to  as  high  a  pitch 
of  aristocracy  as  possible,  yet,  oh,  glorious  !  oh,  all-subdu- 
ing power  of  REASON  !  when  he  got  that,  he  thought  of 
nothing  but  to  make  everybody  happy.  To  take  the  lands 
from  the  Indians  he  abhorred;  he  bought  their  lands.  To 
exact  and  starve  the  poor  who  followed  him  across  the  ocean 
for  conscience  and  quiet  sake,  he  could  not  brook.  He  put 
the  lands  at  the  low  rate  of  forty  shillings  a  hundred  acres, 
and  one  shilling  per  hundred  acres  yearly  quit-rent.  But 
what  crowned  all,  was  the  noble  character  of  privileges  by 
which  he  made  them  more  free,  perhaps,  than  any  people 
on  earth;  and  which,  by  securing  both  civil  and  religious 
liberty,  caused  the  eyes  of  the  oppressed  from  all  parts  of 
the  world  to  look  to  his  country  for  relief.  This  one  act 
of  godlike  wisdom  and  goodness  has  settled  Penn's  country 
in  a  more  strong  and  permanent  manner  than  the  wisest 
regulations  could  have  done  on  any  other  plan.  A  man 
has  but  to  believe  there  is  a  God  ;  that  he  is  the  inspector 
of  our  actions,  and  the  future  rewarder  and  punisher  of 
good  and  ill,  and  he  is  not  only  tolerated,  but,  if  possessed  of 
talents  and  integrity,  is  on  the  road  to  a  place. 

This  great  and  good  man  lived  to  see  an  extensive  coun- 
try rescued  from  the  wilderness  and  filled  witlva  free  and 
flourishing  people  ;  he  lived  to  lay  the  foundation  of  a  splen- 
did and  wealthy  city ;  he  lived  to  see  it  promise  every  thing, 
from  the  situation  he  himself  had  chosen  and  from  the  en- 
couragement which  he  himself  had  given  it;  he  lived  to 
see  all  this,  but  he  died  in  the  Fleet  prison  !    \_A  mistake.'] 

'Tis  pleasing  to  do  honour  to  those  great  men  whose  vir- 
tues and  generosity  have  contributed  to  the  peopling  of  the 
earth  and  to  the  freedom  and  happiness  of  mankind;  who 
have  preferred  the  interest  of  a  remote  posterity,  and  times 
unknown,  to  their  own  fortune  and  to  the  quiet  and  secu- 
rity of  their  own  lives.  Now  both  Britain  and  America 
reap  just  benefit  from  his  labours  and  his  losses ;  and  his  pos- 


40  A    BRIEF    MEMOIR 

terity  have  a  vast  estate  out  of  the  quit-rents  of  that  very 
province  whose  establishment  was  the  ruin  of  their  prede- 
cessor's fortune. 

MONTESQUIEU,  ON    PENN. 

"  A  character  so  extraordinary  in  the  institutions  of 
Greece,  has  shown  itself  lately  in  the  dregs  and  corruption 
of  modern  times.  A  very  honest  legislator  has  formed  a 
people  to  whom  probity  seems  as  natural  as  bravery  to  the 
Spartans.  William  Penn  is  a  real  Lycurgus ;  and  though 
the  former  made  peace  his  principal  aim,  as  the  latter  did 
war,  yet  they  resemble  one  another  in  the  singular  way  of 
living  to  which  they  reduced  their  people — in  the  ascendent 
they  gained  over  freemen,  in  the  prejudices  they  overcame, 
and  in  the  passions  they  subdued." 

CHARACTER    OF   WILLIAM    PENN — BY    DR.  MARSILLAC, 

Deputy  Extraordinary  from  the  Quakers  in  France  to  the  National 
Assembly,  1791 

"  After  so  many  acts  of  violence  and  oppression,  so  many 
robberies  and  murders  committed  by  the  Europeans  in  the 
New  World,  the  heart  finds  some  consolation  in  pausing  over 
the  part  which  William  Penn  acted  there.  In  an  age  when 
savage  Europe  put  to  death  so  many  innocent  people  merely 
because  they  could  not  embrace  the  faith  of  their  sovereigns, 
and  spread  over  so  large  a  part  of  America  those  horrors  of 
fire  and  sword  at  which  nature  revolts,  William  Penn,  like 
an  angel  from  heaven,  presented  the  olive-branch  to  those 
afflicted  people,  and,  by  acts  of  godlike  justice,  not  only  re- 
stored tranquillity  to  their  ravaged  quarters,  but  laid  the 
foundation  of  extensive  liberty  and  happiness. 

"  He  was  perhaps  the  first  who  ever  built  one  of  the  fair- 
est empires  of  the  world  on  the  sole  basis  of  general  good, 
and,  by  assuring  universal  toleration  and  community  of 
rights,    offered  a  happy  asylum   to  persecuted   innocence 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  41 

throughout  the  earth.  There  are  but  few  sections  of  the 
American  continent  that  have  not  been  drenched  with  hu- 
man blood ;  and  to  their  eternal  shame  it  was  the  enlight- 
ened and  polished  Europeans  who  did  this,  and  who  mur- 
dered by  thousands  the  poor  harmless  natives,  who  received 
them  with  hospitality!  and  then  to  extenuate  their  guilt, 
they  branded  those  as  savages  whom  they  had  so  barbar- 
ously slaughtered.  The  arrival  of  William  Penn  put  a  stop 
to  those  frightful  enormities.  His  godlike  humanity  to 
these  oppressed  people — treating  them  as  brothers,  buying 
their  lands  and  heaping  them  with  favours,  melted  their  sim- 
ple natures  with  gratitude  and  affection.  Astonished  to  see 
a  white  man  who  was  good,  and  abhorred  injustice  and  blood- 
shed, they  revered  him  as  something  more  than  man,  and 
gloried  in  calling  him  '  Father.* 

"  Of  all  the  Europeans  who  have  mitigated  the  ills  of 
life  and  the  fury  of  religious  persecution,  William  Penn 
most  deserves  the  gratitude  of  posterity.  His  first  act  in 
America  held  up  a  lovely  presage  of  the  prosperity  that  was 
to  follow.  And  in  his  unyielding  efforts  to  shield  the  op- 
pressed, he  looks  like  Moses,  followed  by  a  host  of  religious 
friends,  whom  he  conducted  across  the  wilderness  of  waves 
to  a  new  'land  of  promise,'  flowing  with  the  milk  and 
hone?/  of  freedom,  peace,  and  plenty. 

"  Abhorring  persecution,  as  the  direst  reproach  and 
scourge  of  mankind,  he  resolved  effectually  to  bar  the  door 
against  it.  Hence  that  sublime  charter  of  his,  guarantee- 
ing the  most  perfect  liberty  of  conscience  to  all  the  honest 
worshippers  of  God,  no  matter  what  their  opinions  and 
forms.  Instantly  crowds  of  persons,  oppressed  in  their 
own  country  because  of  religion,  embarked  for  the  country 
of  William  Penn.  Then  shone  forth  that  divine  philoso- 
phy '  Love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself,'  in  the  blessed  fruits 
resulting  from  it ;  for,  while  among  the  antichrists  of  Eu- 
rope, the  popes  and  bishops,  nothing  was  heard  but  cries 


42  A    BRIEF    MEMOIR 

and  groans  from  the  inquisitions  and  dungeons;  nothing 
talked  of  but  sales  of  property  belonging  to  heretics  and 
dissenters ;  nothing  seen  but  marks  of  deadly  hate  between 
the  oppressing  and  oppressed  churches ;  in  good  William 
Penn's  country,  glory  to  God,  you  met  with  no  spectacles 
of  this  sort ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  every  thing  to  sparkle 
the  eye  of  charity  with  pleasure.  There  you  saw  worship- 
pers of  a  hundred  different  sects,  moving  along  the  streets 
to  their  several  churches,  in  the  most  perfect  peace  and 
harmony;  there,  whether  Jews  or  Christians,  Catholics  or 
Protestants,  all  adored  God  in  the  way  they  thought  most 
rational;  and,  meeting  with  no  persecution  themselves,  they 
felt  no  temptation  to  persecute  others.  Every  poor  emi- 
grant to  Pennsylvania  was  welcome  as  an  exile  from  his 
native  land;  and,  having  no  country  or  family  of  his  own, 
he  found  in  William  Penn  a  tender  and  generous  father. 

"The  most  virtuous  of  men  was  the  honoured  instrument 
of  blessings  to  thousands  of  the  unfortunate ;  and  his  in- 
stitutions have  laid  the  imperishable  foundations  of  a  new 
empire,  which  shines  like  a  star  in  the  west,  and  whose  rays 
have  already  begun  to  open  the  eyes  of  Europe. 

"  Having  held  the  reins  of  government  no  longer  than 
was  necessary  for  the  good  of  his  province,  he  mixed  among 
his  people  as  only  one  of  their  number,  and  despising  on 
the  one  hand  all  the  pomps  of  the  falsely  great,  and  filling 
up  life,  on  the  other,  with  the  most  beneficent  labours,  he 
came  to  the  grave  in  a  good  old  age,  eulogized  by  the  great- 
est philosophers,  honoured  above  the  proudest  kings,  and 
to  this  day  revered  by  the  Indians,  as  a  benevolent  spirit 
sent  down  from  heaven  to  establish  the  reign  of  peace  and 
happiness  on  earth." 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  43 


CHAPTER   V. 

"the  macaulay  charges."* 

In  this  supplementary  chapter  I  propose  to  review  the 
charges  made  against  William  Penn  by  Whig  historians, 
and  adopted,  with  novelties  and  exaggerations  of  his  own, 
by  Mr.  Macaulay  in  his  recent  history.  The  reader  who 
has  traced  his  career  from  Tower  Hill  to  the  graveyard  at 
Jordans,  may  hardly  care  to  read  what  follows ;  the  simple 
record  of  his  life  being  the  most  emphatic  answer  that  can 
be  given  to  party  misrepresentation ;  but  I  believe  there  are 
some  who  will  look  for  a  more  formal  refutation  of  these 
charges  at  my  hands,  and  for  their  satisfaction  I  enter  into 
the  several  points  of  controversy  which  have  been  raised. 
Every  one  is  conscious  of  the  animus  which  pervades  the 
last  Whig  history.  To  point  out  the  capricious  likes  and 
dislikes  of  the  historian  would  be  tedious,  and  is  unneces- 
sary :  at  the  same  time  I  will  not  deny  that  his  page  is  alive 
with  pictures,  and  that  the  narrative  possesses  a  unity  and 
vehemence  which  render  it  one  of  the  most  useful  additions 
to  our  store  of  historical  reading  since  the  appearance  of  the 
Scotch  novels. 

Mr.  Macaulay  has  written  several  volumes  of  history  and 
criticism.  He  must  be  aware  that  one  of  the  fundamental 
laws  of  Critical  Inquiry  demands,  that  when  a  fact  or  a  cha- 
racter has  stood  the  tests  of  time,  and  in  the  progress  of 
opinion  has  attained  to  something  like  a  fixed  position  in  the 
historical  system,  the  evidence  in  support  of  any  assault  on  it 
must  be  strong  and  free  from  taint  in  some  fair  proportion  to 
the  length  of  time  and  strength  of  opinion  on  which  it  rests. 

*  From  Dixon's  Life  of  Penn. 


44  A    BRIEF    MEM  OIK 

This  rule  is  deeply  based  in  human  nature.  The  fixity  of 
historical  ideas  is,  in  other  words,  the  permanence  of  truth. 
Once  a  great  historical  verdict  is  passed,  the  noblest  instincts 
of  our  being  prompt  us  to  guard  it  as  something  sacred, — 
to  be  set  aside  only  after  scrupulous  inquiry  and  conclusive 
evidence  against  its  justice.  The  wise  man  will  not  rashly 
disturb  the  repose  of  ages.  Our  faith  in  history  is  akin  to 
religion  :  it  is  a  confidence  in  our  power  to  separate  good 
from  evil — truth  from  falsehood, — to  preserve  in  their  native 
purity  the  wisdom  which  serves  to  guide,  and  the  memories 
which  inspire  the  best  actions  of  mankind.  Mr.  Macaulay 
will  not  deny  the  reasonableness  of  a  rule  growing  out  of 
such  a  feeling.  He  would  himself  exact  the  strongest  facts 
and  the  severest  logic  from  the  man  who  should  presume  to 
dispute  the  laws  of  Kepler ;  and  the  fullest  and  most  un- 
questionable evidence  would  be  required  in  support  of  an 
assertion  that  Milton  was  a  debauchee,  or  Buckingham  a 
man  of  virtue. 

I  will  apply  this  canon  to  his  own  method.  That  I  may 
not  incur  the  charge  of  improperly  assuming  that  Penn's 
reputation  was  thus  historically  fixed,  I  will  cite  Mr.  Ma- 
caulay's  own  reading  of  the  verdict  which  more  than  a  cen- 
tury and  a  half  has  ratified.  "Rival  nations/'  he  says, 
"  have  agreed  in  canonizing  him.  England  is  proud  of  his 
name.  A  great  commonwealth  beyond  the  Atlantic  regards 
him  with  a  reverence  similar  to  that  which  the  Athenians 
felt  for  Theseus,  and  the  Romans  for  Quirinus.  The  respect- 
able society  of  which  he  was  a  member  honours  him  as  an 
apostle.  By  pious  men  of  other  persuasions  he  is  generally 
regarded  as  a  bright  pattern  of  Christian  virtue.  Mean- 
while, admirers  of  a  very  different  sort  have  sounded  his 
praises.  The  French  philosophers  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury pardoned  what  they  regarded  as  his  superstitious  fan- 
cies in  consideration  of  his  contempt  for  priests,  and  of  his 
cosmopolitan  benevolence,  impartially  extended  to  all  races 


OF   WILLIAM    PENN.  45 

and  all  creeds.  His  name  has  thus  become,  throughout  all 
civilized  countries,  a  synonym  for  polity  and  philanthropy." 

This  general  verdict  Mr.  Macaulay  challenges.  He  ad- 
mits that  his  attempt  "  requires  some  courage ;"  I  think 
the  reader  will  agree  with  him,  when  the  evidence  is  ad- 
duced'on  which  his  challenge  is  supported.  This  evidence 
consists  of  five  assertions  :  (I.)  That  his  connection  with 
the  court  in  1684,  while  he  lived  at  Kensington,  caused  his 
own  sect  to  look  coldly  on  him  and  even  treat  him  with 
obloquy.  (II.)  That  he  "  extorted  money"  from  the  girls 
of  Taunton  for  the  maids  of-honour.  (III.)  That  he  allowed 
himself  to  be  employed  in  the  work  of  seducing  Kiffin  into 
a  compliance  with  court  designs.  (IV.)  That  he  endea- 
voured to  gain  William's  assent  to  the  promulgated  edict  sus- 
pending the  penal  laws.  (V.)  That  he  "  did  his  best  to  se- 
duce" the  Magdalen  collegians  "  from  the  path  of  right,"  and 
was  "  a  broker  in  simony  of  a  peculiarly  discreditable  kind." 

These  allegations  I  shall  examine  in  the  order  in  which 
they  occur. 

I.  I  quote  Mr.  Macaulay's  own  words.  "  He  was  soon 
surrounded  by  flatterers  and  suppliants.  His  house  at  Ken- 
sington was  sometimes  thronged  at  his  hour  of  rising  by 
more  than  two  hundred  suitors.  He  paid  dear,  however, 
for  this  seeming  prosperity.  Even  his  own  sect  looked  coldly 
on  him  and  requited  his  services  with  obloquy."  His 
only  authority  for  this  statement  is  Gerard  Croese,  (Hist. 
Qua.  lib.  ii.  1695,)  a  Dutchman,  who  never  was  in  England 
in  his  life,  and  whose  work  the  Society  of  Friends  has  never 
recognised.  Croese  could  have  no  trustworthy  knowledge 
of  the  opinions  of  the  Quakers,  and  no  right  to  represent 
their  opinions.  The  statement  is  not,  however,  merely  un- 
supported ;  but  it  is  positively  contradicted  by  the  Devon- 
shire House  Records.  These  prove  that  at  this  time  Penn 
was  in  regular  attendance  at  the  monthly  meetiDgs,  and  was 
elected  to  the  highest  offices  in  the  body. 


46  A    BRIEF    MEMOIR 

II.  That  the  reader  may  understand  the  Taunton  affair, 
I  must  point  out  the  features,  with  more  exactness  than  Mr. 
Macaulay  has  done,  which  relate  to  his  charge  against  Penn. 
When  Monmouth  arrived  at  Taunton,  he  found  that  the 
town  had  pledged  itself  to  the  rebellion,  by  the  signal  act 
of  having  had  wrought,  at  the  public  expense,  a  set  of  royal 
standards  for  him  and  his  army,  by  the  daughters  of  the 
principal  families.  The  ceremony  of  presenting  these  stand- 
ards was  one  of  the  most  important  acts  of  the  rebellion ; 
at  the  head  of  her  procession  the  schoolmistress  carried  the 
emblems  of  royal  power — the  Bible  and  the  sword  j*  and 
the  royal  banner  was  presented  to  the  duke  as  to  their  sove- 
reign. Thereupon  he  assumed  the  name  of  King — set  a 
price  on  his  uncle's  head — and  proclaimed  the  Parliament 
then  sitting  a  treasonable  convention,  to  be  pursued  with 
war  and  destruction. f  This  insanity  cost  Monmouth  his 
head,  and  won  a  gibbet  for  hundreds  of  his  followers.  The 
case  of  the  maidens  was  not  different  to  that  of  many  others. 
They  had  taken,  with  their  parents'  knowledge,  a  prominent 
part  in  the  rebellion  ;  and  when  the  day  of  vengeance  came, 
they  stood  before  the  law  guilty  of  a  crime  for  which  the 
sentence  was — death.  The  idea  of  sending  them  to  the 
scaffold  for  faults  which  were  their  parents'  more  than  their 
own,  was  of  course  not  thought  of;  but  that  the  parents 
might  not  escape  punishment,  the  power  to  pardon  them 
was  given  by  the  king  to  the  maids  of  honour, — not  likely, 
I  must  suppose,  to  be  the  most  exacting  of  creditors, — as  a 
sort  of  fee  or  bounty.  It  is  to  be  remembered  the  sale  of 
pardons  was  in  that  age  a  regular  profession ;  from  the  king — 
at  least  in  Charles's  time — to  the  link-boy  or  the  porter  at 

*  Mr.  Macaulay  forgets  the  sword,  because  Sir  James  Mackintosh  had 
forgotten  it. 

f  Though  very  fond  of  strong  language,  Mr.  Macaulay  softens  these 
harsh  words  into  simple  "illegal  assembly"  !  his  evident  object  being  to 
make  the  after-vengeance  appear  unprovoked. 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  47 

his  gates,  almost  every  man  and  woman  connected  with  the 
court  regularly  sold  his  or  her  influence.  The  young  girls 
about  the  Queen,  daughters,  be  it  remembered,  of  the  first 
families  in  the  land,  had  no  proper  conception  of  the  horrid 
wickedness  of  this  brokerage ;  and  they  requested  the  Duke 
of  Somerset  to  get  the  affair  arranged  for  them  on  the  best 
terms.  Somerset  wrote  to  Sir  Francis  "Warre,  the  member 
for  Bridgewater,  asking  him  as  a  personal  favour  to  see  the 
parents,  as  being  a  neighbour  and  likely  to  be  known  to 
them,  or  to  name  some  proper  agent  who  might  arrange  the 
business.  Warre  had  evidently  no  wish  to  be  mixed  up  with 
an  affair  of  this  kind ;  and  he  replied  that  it  was  already  in 
proper  hands,  those  of  one  Bird,  the  town-clerk.  For  some 
unknown  reason  the  maids  of  honour  forbade  this  agent  to 
proceed  in  their  behalf,  and  Warre  was  again  applied  to; 
but  he  refused  to  name  a  broker  on  the  spot,  excusing  him- 
self on  the  pleas  that  the  schoolmistress  was  a  woman  of 
mean  birth,  and  the  young  ladies  were  acting  at  the  time 
under  her  orders.  Weeks  elapsed,  and  no  settlement  was 
made  by  the  parents ;  nor  do  we  know — except  by  infer- 
ence— what  was  done  in  the  matter  at  court,  until  the  fol- 
lowing letter  was  written  : — 

"Whitehall,  Feb.  13th,  1685-6. 

"  Mr.  Penne  : — Her  Majties  Maids  of  Honour  having 
acquainted  me  that  they  designe  to  employ  you  and  Mr. 
Waldon  in  making  a  composition  with  the  Relations  of  the 
Maids  of  Taunton  for  the  high  Misdemeanour  they  have  been 
guilty  of,  I  do  at  their  request  hereby  let  you  know  that 
His*  Majty  has  been  pleased  to  give  their  Fines  to  the  said 
Maids  of  Honour,  and  therefore  recommend  it  to  Mr.  Wal- 
den  and  you  to  make  the  most  advantageous  composition  you 
can  in  their  behalfe.     I  am,  Sir,  your  humble  servant, 

"  Sunderland  P." 

*  In  transcribing  this  letter  from  the  State  Papers,  Mr.  Forster  writes 
"her"  maj'y, — a  mistake  which  gives  an  erroneous  countenance  to  Mr. 
Macaulay's  "scandal  against  Queen"  Maria. 


40  A    BRIEF    MEMOIR 

To  whom  was  this  letter  addressed  ?  Sir  James  Macin- 
tosh, the  first  man  who  brought  the  letter  to  light, — for  Mr. 
Macaulay  has  not  even  the  merit  of  originality  in  his  errors, — 
assumed  that  it  was  addressed  to  William  Penn ;  and  in  this 
singular  assumption  he  has  been  followed  by  his  friend  and 
admirer.  But  Macintosh  went  still  further :  he  not  only 
assumed,  without  warrant,  that  a  letter  addressed  to  -a  "  Mr. 
Penne"  to  engage  him  in  a  "  scandalous  transaction'''  was 
addressed  to  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania;  but  he  also 
dared,  in  defiance  of  every  rule  of  historical  criticism,  to 
assume  that  "William  Penn  accepted  the  commission  that  was 
so  offered.  Mr.  Macaulay,  of  course,  copied  this  gross  mis- 
take from  Sir  James,  and  gave  it  the  additional  currency  of 
his  own  volumes.  This  point  is  particularly  noticeable, — 
that  Mr.  Macaulay  did  not  consult  the  original  authorities, 
but  satisfied  himself  with  merely  quoting  from  the  "  Macin- 
tosh collection."  Now  this  letter  was  certainly  not  addressed 
to  William  Penn.  (1.)  In  the  first  place,  it  does  not  bear 
his  name :  he  never  wrote  his  name  "Penne,"  nor  did  others 
ever  so  write  it.  In  the  Pennsylvania  correspondence,  in 
the  Minutes  of  the  Privy  Council,  and  in  the  letters  of  Van 
Citters,  Locke,  Lawton,  Bailey,  Creech,  and  Hunt,  and  in 
the  correspondence  of  his  private  friends,  I  have  seen  it 
written  hundreds  of  times,  but  never  once,  even  by  acci- 
dent, with  an  e  final.  Least  of  all  men  could  Sunderland, 
his  intimate  acquaintance  from  boyhood,  make  such  a  mis- 
take. (2.)  The  letter  is  highly  disrespectful,  if  supposed 
to  be  written  to  a  man  of  his  rank — a  man  who  had  refused 
a  peerage,  and  who  stood  before  the  court  not  only  as  a  per- 
sonal friend  to  the  king,  but  as  Lord  Proprietor  of  the  largest 
province  in  America;  the  more  especially  would  this  be 
the  case  when  it  is  considered  that  the  letter  was  written  by 
the  polite  and  diplomatic  Earl  of  Sunderland.  (3.)  The 
work  to  be  done  required  a  low,  trafficking  agent,  who  could 
go  down  to  Taunton  and  stay  there  until  the  business  was 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  49 

concluded  :  it  is  obvious  that  this  could  not  be  done  by  Wil- 
liam Penn.  (4.)  The  letter  is  evidently  a  reply  to  an  offer 
of  service  :  the  maids  of  honour  "  designe  to  employ'7  Air. 
Penne  and  Mr.  Walden,  because,  as  it  seems  to  me,  they 
had  applied  for  the  office.  Malice  itself  would  shrink  from 
the  assumption  that  the  governor  of  Pennsylvania  would 
voluntarily  solicit  such  an  employment.  (5.)  It  is  contrary 
to  every  thing  else  that  is  known  of  Penn  that  he  would 
allow  himself,  on  any  pretence,  to  be  drawn  into  such  a 
business.  (6.)  No  mention  of  it  occurs  in  any  of  his  letters  : 
I  have  read  some  hundreds  of  them,  and,  although  he  was 
the  most  communicative  of  correspondents,  not  a  trace  of 
his  action,  or  of  his  having  been  applied  to  in  the  affair, 
is  to  be  found.  Knowing  his  epistolary  habit,  this  met 
alone  would  have  satisfied  my  own  mind.  (7.)  No  mention 
has  been  made  of  his  interference  by  any  news-writer,  pamph- 
leteer, or  historian, — though,  had  he  been  concerned,  the 
host  of  maligners,  who  rose  against  him  on  the  flight  of 
James,  could  certainly  not  have  failed  to  point  their  sar- 
casms with  the  "scandalous  transaction"  and  "extortion  of 
money."  (8.)  No  tradition  of  his  appearance  on  the  scene 
is  preserved  in  the  neighbourhood  ;  when,  had  he  really  been 
the  agent  employed,  it  is  impossible  that  so  conspicuous  a 
broker  could  have  faded  so  soon  from  local  recollection. 

But,  if  William  Penn  were  not  the  "Mr.  Penne"  ad- 
dressed by  Lord  Sunderland,  and  designed  by  the  ladies  to 
be  employed  in  their  behalf — who  was  the  man  ?  A  little 
research  enables  me  to  answer  this  question.  In  the  regis- 
ters of  the  Privy  Council  I  find  this  entry : — 

"Nov.  25th,  16S7. 

u  George  Penne — Upon  reading  the  petition  of  George 
Penne,  gent.,  setting  forth  that  his  family  having  been  great 
sufferers  for  their  loyalty,  He  humbly  begs  that  His  Ma- 
jesty would  be  graciously  pleased  to  grant  him  a  patent  for 


50  A    BRIEF    MEMOIR 

the  sole  exercising  the  royal  Oake  lottery,  and  licensing  all 
other  games,  in  his  Majesty's  plantations  in  America,  for 
twenty-one  years.  His  Majesty  in  Council  is  pleased  to 
refer  this  matter  to  the  consideration  of  the  Rt.  Hon.  the 
Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Treasury,  and;  upon  what  their 
lordships  report  of  what  is  fit  to  be  done  therein  for  the 
petitioner,  His  Majesty  will  declare  his  further  pleasure." 

This  man,  whose  fitting  reward,  according  to  his  own  esti- 
mate of  the  value  of  his  services,  was  the  fief  of  a  gaming- 
table, was  the  Mr.  Penne.  His  name  is  always  spelt  with 
the  final  e.  In  the  first  draft  of  the  foregoing  minute,  the 
clerk  had  spelt  the  name  George  Penn,  both  in  the  mar- 
gin and  in  the  text,  but  has  filled  the  final  letter  in  after- 
wards, as  if  propheticall}7  guarding  against  any  confusion 
of  this  wretched  fellow  with  the  great  governor  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  was  a  low  hanger-on  about  the  back-doors  of 
the  court,  ready  for  any  dirty  work.  When  pardons  were 
to  be  bought  and  sold,  he  was  a  pardon-broker.  He  was 
actively  engaged  in  the  Taunton  affair;  and  among  other  feats, 
as  I  am  able  to  state  on  the  authority  of  a  family-cash  book 
still  preserved,  he  obtained  65/.  from  Nathaniel  Pinney  as 
the  ransom  of  his  brother  Azariah  Pinney,  one  of  the  trans- 
ported rebels.  Mr.  Waldcn  was  apparently  an  agent  of  the 
same  kind,  and  equally  and  deservedly  obscure.  For  some 
reason,  however,  the  "  designe  to  employ"  these  men  mis- 
carried, and  the  maids  of  honour  found  another  agent  in 
the  person  of  Brent,  the  Popish  lawyer,  who  was  a  regular 
pardon-broker,  and  was  arrested  on  the  flight  of  King  James, 
as  I  find  by  the  minutes  of  Privy  Council.  This  fellow  em- 
ployed as  great  a  rascal  as  himself,  one  Crane  of  Bridge- 
water,  as  his  sub-agent,  and  between  them  they  settled  the 
business,  as  Oldmixon  relates. 

Having  cleared  Penn  from  this  foul  and  unfounded  charge, 
let  me  say  a  word  or  two  in  behalf  of  the  maids  of  honour. 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  51 

Mr.  Macaulay  says  they  "  were  at  last  forced  to  be  content 
with  less  than  a  third"  of  7000?.  How  much  less  ?  Is 
there  any  evidence  that  they  received  a  single  guinea  ?  Dr. 
Toulniin  collected  his  information  from  the  families  of  the 
girls  of  Taunton,  at  a  time  when  the  children  of  the  little 
rebels  might  have  been  still  alive,  and  he  says  merely  that 
some  of  the  parents  paid  as  much  as  fifty  or  a  hundred 
pounds.  Some  of  them  ?  Oldmixon  tells  us  that  the  num- 
ber of  the  scholars  was  twenty.  How  many  of  twenty  could 
be  called  some  ?  Take  it  at  ten ;  if  pardons  were  purchased 
for  ten,  five  at  50?.  and  five  at  100?.,  this  would  but  yield 
750?.  altogether.  Besides  which  Oldmixon,  who  had  pecu- 
liar means  of  learning  the  real  facts,  says  the  agent  and  his 
subordinate  paid  themselves  bountifully  out  of  the  money. 
I  know  of  no  proof  that  the  maids  of  honour  got  a  shilling. 
While  on  this  digression,  I  may  add  a  remark  in  behalf 
of  another  much-abused  lady.  The  historian  counts  up  with 
virtuous  indignation  the  number  of  transported  insurgents 
which  the  Queen,  Maria  d'Este,  selected  for  her  private  por- 
tion of  the  spoil,  and  talks  of  "the  thousand  pounds"  which 
she  made  by  "  her  unprincely  greediness  and  her  unwomanly 
cruelty."  Now  we  not  only  do  not  know  how  much,  if  any 
thing  at  all,  the  Queen  put  into  her  pocket,  but  we  do  not 
know  for  certain  that  she  received  for  herself  a  single  trans- 
port. We  have  no  good  reason  to  believe  that  she  ever 
dreamt  of  such  a  thing.  The  only  ground  for  this  gross 
charge  against  the  honour  of  a  woman  and  a  foreigner,  is  a 
letter  of  Sunderland  to  Lord  Jeffreys — which  Mr.  Macaulay, 
as  usual,  has  copied  from  the  "  Macintosh  Collection," — in 
which  that  statesman,  after  giving  a  list  of  grants  of  pri- 
soners to  various  persons  about  the  court,  adds  in  a  post- 
script— "  The  Queen  has  asked  for  a  hundred  more  of  the 
rebels  who  are  to  be  transported ;  as  soon  as  I  know  for 
whom,  you  shall  hear  from  me  again."  It  is  clear  enough 
from  Sunderland's  words  that  she  did  not  ask  them  for  her- 


52  A    BRIEF    MEMOIR 

self.  It  is  equally  clear  that  Mr.  Macaulay's  estimate  of 
"  the  profits  she  cleared  on  the  cargo,  after  making  large 
allowance  for  those  who  died  of  hunger  and  fever  during 
the  passage/'  is  a  mere  invention.  The  misfortunes  of  this 
woman  should  have  shielded  her  from  injustice. 

III.  Towards  the  close  of  his  reign,  when  the  churchmen 
openly  repudiated  their  own  doctrine  of  passive  obedience, 
James  became  anxious  to  secure  the  adhesion  of  his  dis- 
senting subjects;  and  among  other  leading  men,  he  selected 
Penn's  old  opponent,  William  Kiffin,  the  Baptist,  for  a  city 
magistracy.  But  two  of  Kimn's  grandsons  had  been  taken 
and  executed  in  the  Western  rebellion,  and  it  was  doubted 
whether  the  old  man  would  comply  with  the  wishes  of  the 
court.  At  this  point  Mr.  Macaulay  introduces  Penn.  "The 
heartless  and  venal  sycophants  of  Whitehall,  judging  by 
themselves,  thought  that  the  old  man  would  be  easily  pro- 
pitiated by  an  alderman's  gown,  and  by  some  compensation 
in  money,  for  the  propert}7  which  his  grandsons  had  for- 
feited. Penn  was  employed  in  the  work  of  seduction,  but 
to  no  purpose."  Now,  there  is  not  the  slightest  foundation 
in  history  for  this  statement.  Mr.  Macaulay  here  asserts 
that  Penn  was  "  employed,"  by  the  "  heartless  and  venal 
sycophants"  of  the  court,  to  seduce  Kifiin  into  an  accept- 
ance of  the  alderman's  gown, — and  that  he  failed.  The 
passage  means  this,  or  it  means  nothing.  It  will  be  allowed 
that  on  such  a  point  Kifiin  himself  must  be  the  best  author- 
ity :  in  his  autobiography,  lately  published  from  the  origi- 
nal manuscript,  he  says, — "In  a  little  after,  a  great  tempta- 
tion attended  me,  which  was  a  commission  from  the  King, 
to  be  one  of  the  aldermen  of  the  city  of  London;  which,  as 
soon  as  I  heard  of  it,  I  used  all  the  diligence  I  could,  to  be 
excused,  both  by  some  lords  near  the  King,  and  also  by  Sir 
Nicholas  Butler  and  Mr.  Penn.  But  it  was  all  in  vain." 
This  is  just  the  reverse  of  what  Mr.  Macaulay  states.  Penn 
did  not  go  to  Kifiin  ;  Kifiin  went  to  Penn.     Instead  of  be 


OF   WILLIAM    PENN.  53 

ing  employed  in  the  work  of  seduction,  he  was  engaged  in 
the  task  of  intercession.  Mr.  Macauley  makes  Kiffin  refuse 
the  magistracy  :  Kiffin  says  he  accepted  it : — "  The  next 
court-day  I  came  to  the  court,  and  took  upon  me  the  office 
of  alderman." 

IV.  A  little  attention  to  dates  will  soon  dispose  of  the 
fourth  charge  against  Penn.  Mr.  Macaulay  writes — "  All 
men  were  anxious  to  know  what  he  [the  Prince  of  Orange] 
thought  of  the  Declaration  of  Indulgence.  .  .  .  Penn 
sent  copious  disquisitions  to  the  Hague,  and  even  went 
thither  in  the  hope  that  his  eloquence,  of  which  he  had  a 
high  opinion,  would  prove  irresistible."  Now,  Penn  re- 
turned from  Germany  in  the  autumn  of  1686,  and  the  De- 
claration was  not  issued  until  April,  1687.  After  1686,  he 
never  went  to  the  Dutch  capital.  There  is  no  evidence, 
even,  that  Penn  sent  over  "  copious  disquisitions ;"  Burnet, 
Mr.  Macaulay' s  authority,  says  not  a  word  on  such  a  subject. 
When  Penn  was  at  the  Hague,  in  the  summer  of  1686,  the 
subject  that  was  under  discussion  related  to  the  Tests,  not 
the  Indulgence.  The  Declaration  was  unthought  of  at  that 
time  j — Burnet  is  very  clear  on  this  point.  But  there  is 
other  proof  that  Mr.  Macaulay's  guesswork  is  wrong.  In 
November,  1686,  five  months  before  the  Declaration  was 
issued,  Van  Citters  reported  to  his  correspondent  the  sub- 
stance of  the  conversation  between  Penn  and  the  Prince, 
as  it  was  then  known  in  court  circles  in  London  j  and  in 
that  report  no  mention  whatever  is  made  of  the  Declaration. 

V.  In  the  ninth  chapter  of  the  preceding  memoir,  I  have 
given  the  true  history  of  Penn's  connection  with  the  affair 
of  Magdalen  College.  In  this  place  I  shall  content  my- 
self with  a  special  refutation  of  Mr.  Macaulay' s  errors ;  first 
quoting  his  material  passages,  and  numbering  them  for  sepa- 
rate remark.  (1)  "  Penn  was  at  Chester,  on  a  pastoral 
tour.  His  popularity  and  authority  among  his  brethren 
bad  greatly  declined   (2)  since  he  had  become  a  tool  of 


54  A    BRIEF    MEMOIR 

the  King  and  the  Jesuits."  .  .  .  (3)  "  Perhaps  the  col- 
lege might  still  be  terrified,  caressed,  or  bribed  into  sub- 
mission. The  agency  of  Penn  was  employed."  .  .  .  (4) 
"  The  courtly  Quaker,  therefore,  did  his  best  to  seduce  the 
college  from  the  path  of  right/'  .  .  .  (5)  "To  such  a 
degree  had  his  manners  been  corrupted  by  evil  communica- 
tions, and  his  understanding  obscured  by  inordinate  zeal 
for  a  single  object,  that  he  did  not  scruple  to  become  a 
broker  in  simony  of  a  peculiarly  discreditable  kind,  and  to 
use  a  bishopric  as  a  bait  to  tempt  a  divine  to  perjury." 
These  assertions  may  be  looked  at,  one  by  one,  as  they  stand 
here.  (1)  Had  Penn  become  in  1687 — the  date  of  Mr. 
Macaulay's  authority — unpopular  and  powerless  with  his 
brethren  ?  There  is,  fortunately,  better  evidence  than  that 
of  an  agent  of  Louis  Quatorze:  the  evidence  of  the  "  bre- 
thren' '  themselves.  The  Records  at  Devonshire  House 
prove  that  his  influence  was  high  as  ever  in  the  society  of 
Friends :  he  was  elected  to  speak  their  sentiments ;  he 
served  their  most  important  offices ;  was  in  accord  with  Fox, 
Crisp,  and  the  other  leaders ;  and  at  the  very  moment  when 
Mr.  Macaulay  introduces  him  with  this  disparaging  com- 
ment, he  was  on  a  religious  tour,  one  of  the  most  popular 
and  brilliant  of  his  public  ministry.  To  this  may  be  added 
the  testimony  of  Penn  himself;  in  one  of  his  letters  he  ex- 
pressly says  that  it  is  at  the  joint  request  of  the  Society 
of  Friends,  and  of  persons  in  authority,  that  he  is  engaged 
in  the  business  of  the  nation.  (2)  Was  he  ever  "  a  tool  of 
the  King  and  of  the  Jesuits  V  No  man,  I  venture  to  be- 
lieve, will  entertain  a  doubt  on  this  point,  after  reading  the 
ninth  chapter  of  these  memoirs,  and  the  authorities  there 
cited.  Family  experiences  had  given  him  an  early  abhor- 
rence of  the  persecuting  spirit  of  the  Roman  Church.  In 
his  youth  he  had  written  against  the  errors  of  Popery,  and 
in  his  riper  age  had  pointed  many  a  sentence  with  honest 
indignation  at  Jesuit  morals. 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  55 

Now  that  the  Jesuits  had  acquired  power  at  court,  he 
continually  hazarded  his  influence  by  urging  the  King  to 
banish  them  from  the  royal  presence.  Citters,  Johnstone, 
and  Clarendon,  all  testify  clearly  to  this  effect.  The  Dutch 
diplomatist  says,  "  Penn  has  had  a  long  interview  with  the 
King,  and  has,  he  thinks,  shown  to  the  King  that  Parlia- 
ment will  not  consent  to  a  revocation  of  the  Test  and  Penal 
Laws — and  that  he  never  will  get  a  Parliament  to  his  mind, 
so  long  as  he  will  not  adopt  moderate  councils,  and  drive 
away  from  his  presence  the  immoderate  Jesuits,  and  other 
Papists  who  surround  him  daily,  and  whose  ultra  councils 
he  now  follows."  Johnstone  says  expressly,  that  Penn  was 
against  the  order  commanding  the  Declaration  to  be  read 
in  the  churches.  Clarendon  says  in  his  Diary  that  Penn 
"  laboured  to  thwart  the  Jesuitical  influence  that  predomi- 
nated." On  what  authority,  then,  does  Mr.  Macaulay  make 
his  assertion  ?  Simply  on  his  own  !  Was  he  a  tool  of  the 
King  ?  The  idea  is  absurd.  He  never  sacrificed  a  point  to 
the  humour  of  James ;  but  he  often  crossed  that  humour, 
and  his  political  action  was  always  against  the  court.  Not 
to  go  so  far  back  as  the  days  of  Sidney,  when,  according  to 
Barillon,  he  divided  the  leadership  of  the  most  advanced 
body  of  Reformers  with  that  great  Republican, — if  his  pri- 
vate friendship  was  given  to  Sunderland,  Halifax,  and  Ro- 
chester, his  political  sympathy  was  always  with  the  more 
liberal  men  of  the  opposition.  The  supporters  of  Monmouth 
looked  to  him  and  half  a  dozen  others  to  bring  over  the 
American  colonies  to  the  cause  of  liberty  and  Protestantism. 
Though  he  was  trusted  by  James,  he  was  always  an  object 
of  suspicion  to  his  government.  He  plainly  told  the  King 
of  his  errors ;  he  advised  him  to  expel  the  Jesuits  from 
Whitehall ;  not  to  trust  to  his  prerogative,  but  to  meet  his 
Parliament  with  wise  and  just  proposals;  not  to  insist  on 
having  the  Declaration  read  by  the  clergy;  not  to  commit 
the  seven  Prelates  to  the  Tower.     And  when  that  impolitic 


56  A    BRIEF    MEMOIR 

act  had  been  committed,  he  advised  him  to  take  the  gracious 
opportunity  afforded  by  the  birth  of  a  Prince  of  Wales  to  set 
them  at  liberty,  and  still  further  to  signalize  the  occasion  by 
a  general  amnesty  to  the  exiles  in  Holland.  He  counselled 
him  to  submit  to  the  will  of  the  nation,  and  to  be  content 
with  a  simple  toleration  of  his  religion.  Can  this  man  be 
called  a  "tool"  of  the  King?  Let  Mr.  Macaulay  show  an- 
other man  in  that  age  with  equal  boldness  and  integrity. 
He  braved  the  royal  frowns  again  and  again  in  the  cause 
of  mercy.  He  obtained  a  pardon  for  Locke,  another  for 
Trenchard,  another  for  Aaron  Smith — all  of  them  men  who 
had  deeply  offended  James.  He  compelled  him  to  listen  to 
the  councils  of  the  leading  Whigs;  and  in  the  Oxford  affair 
told  him  he  was  in  the  wrong  in  plainer  language  than  the 
usages  of  speech  would  permit  to  ordinary  men.  This  man 
a  tool  !  (3)  Was  the  agency  of  Penn  employed  to  terrify, 
caress,  or  bribe  the  collegians  into  submission  ?  There  is 
not  even  a  shadow  of  authority  for  this  most  uncharitable 
assertion.  Penn  was  alarmed  at  the  quarrel,  fearing  it 
might  lead,  through  the  combined  obstinacy  of  the  King 
and  Fellows,  to  a  loss  of  the  College  Charter,  and  a  trans- 
fer of  its  immense  revenues  to  the  Papists — and  he  inter- 
posed his  good  offices  to  heal  the  wound.  Instead  of  look- 
ing  on  him  as  a  person  "  employed"  to  terrify,  caress,  or 
bribe  them  into  submission,  we  have  the  evidence  of  Dr. 
Bailey,  one  of  the  inculpated  Fellows,  and  that  of  Thomas 
Creech,  a  student,  that  the  collegians  regarded  him  as  a 
friend  and  mediator  "  in  their  behalf."  (4)  Did  he  "  do 
his  best  to  seduce  the  college  from  the  path  of  right  ?"  Mr. 
Macaulay' s  knowledge  of  the  proceeding  appears  to  be  de- 
rived from  "  Wilmot's  Life  of  Hough" — though  he  does  not 
quote  it — and  from  the  "  State  Trials."  To  these  sources 
of  information  must  be  added  the  MS.  letters  of  Dr.  Sykes 
and  Mr.  Creech,  preserved  in  the  Bodleian  Library  at  Ox- 
ford, and  the  MS.  papers  of  George  Hunt,  now  in  the  pos- 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  57 

session  of  the  President  of  Magdalen  College.  Hunt  was 
one  of  the  Fellows,  and  was  present  at  the  interview  with 
Penn ;  Sykes  and  Creech  were  both  of  them  well  informed 
as  to  all  the  incidents  which  occurred ;  yet  so  far  is  either 
he,  or  are  they,  from  saying  that  he  attempted  to  "  seduce 
them  from  the  path  of  right/ '  that  they  agree  exactly  in  the 
emphatic  and  conclusive  statement  that,  after  hearing  their 
reasons,  he  agreed  with  them  that  they  were  justified  in 
their  resistance.  He  even  went  further ;  he  became  their 
champion.  In  their  presence  he  wrote  a  manly  English 
letter  to  his  sovereign,  in  which  he  told  him  in  very  plain 
terms — "that  their  case  was  hard;  that  in  their  circum- 
stances they  could  not  yield  without  a  breach  of  their  oaths; 
and  that  such  mandates  were  a  force  on  conscience,  and 
not  agreeable  to  the  King's  other  gracious  indulgences." 
How  singularly  unfortunate  is  Mr.  Macaulay  in  his  author- 
ities !  "Penn,"  he  says,  "exhorted  the  Fellows  not  to 
rely  on  the  goodness  of  their  cause,  but  to  submit,  or  at 
least  to  temporize."  I  defy  Mr.  Macaulay  to  give  any  trust- 
worthy authority  for  this  macchiavellian  council.  He  wisely 
abstains  from  quoting  his  author  j  but  the  curious  reader 
will  find  it  in  the  twelfth  volume  of  the  "  State  Trials,"  in 
the  shape  of  an  anonymous  letter  which  was  addressed  by 
some  unknown  person,  during  the  heat  of  the  dispute,  to 
Dr.  Bailey,  one  of  the  Fellows.  Bailey,  "  from  the  chari- 
table purpose"  of  the  letter,  thought  it  might  have  come 
from  Penn  j  and  to  ascertain  the  fact,  wrote  a  reply  to  Penn 
without  signing  his  name,  saying  that  if  he  were  his  anony- 
mous correspondent,  he  would  know  how  to  address  his  an- 
swer. Of  course  no  reply  came.  No  man  conversant  with 
Penn's  habit  of  writing  could  for  an  instant  mistake  it  for 
his  j  it  commences,  "  Sir," — and  the  second  person  plural 
is  used  throughout.  Nor  is  this  all  the  evidence  against  its 
being  written  by  Penn.  The  contemporary  account  of  these 
proceedings  has  written,  in  Hunt's  hand,  on  the  margin  of 


58  A    BRIEF    MEMOIR 

this  letter,  the  words — "  This  letter  Mr.  Penn  disowned/' 
Yet  it  is  on  the  assumption  that  Penn  actually  wrote  this 
thrice-proven  spurious  epistle,  that  Mr.  Macaulay  has  built 
his  most  serious  accusation  !  What  would  be  said  of  such 
evidence  in  a  court  of  justice  ?  Surely  the  memories  of  the 
illustrious  dead  are  not  less  precious  than  the  property 
of  the  living !  Let  me  say,  to  the  credit  of  Macintosh, 
that  lie  makes  no  charge  against  Penn  in  this  Oxford  busi- 
ness. Here  Mr.  Macaulay  is  perfectly  original.  (5)  Did 
Penn  deal  "  in  simony  of  a  particularly  disreputable  kind, 
and  use  a  bishopric  as  a  bait  to  tempt  a  divine  to  perjury  V* 
Mr.  Macaulay  continues  to  represent  him  as  employed  by 
the  court;  and  having,  as  he  says,  failed  in  his  attempt  to 
terrify  the  collegians  into  obedience,  he  "  then  tried  a  gen- 
tler tone.  He  had  an  interview  with  Hough,  and  with  some 
of  the  Fellows,  and,  after  many  professions  of  sympathy  and 
friendship,  began  to  hint  at  a  compromise.  .  .  .  l  How 
should  you  like/  said  Penn,  '  to  see  Dr.  Hough  Bishop  of 
Oxford  V  "  Hereupon  follows  the  indignation  about  simony 
and  perjury. 

Now,  let  us  see  what  is  really  known  about  this  interview. 
Dr.  Hough,  its  chief  subject,  wrote  on  the  evening  of  the 
day  on  which  it  took  place  a  letter  to  his  cousin,  in  which 
he  recited  the  principal  heads  of  the  discourse, — and  this 
account,  from  one  too  deeply  interested  to  be  impartial,  and 
too  much  excited  to  remember  any  thing  but  what  especially 
concerned  his  own  prospects  and  position,  is  unfortunately 
the  only  existing  authority.  Hunt  was  not  present  at  this 
interview,  and  no  account  of  it  is  preserved  in  the  Magda- 
len College  MSS.  Holden's  MS.  letters  in  the  same  library 
commence  posterior  to  the  affair  of  Penn ;  and  Baron  Jen- 
ner's  MS.  account  of  the  Visitation  is  not  to  be  found.  But 
let  us  take  the  authority  we  have,  imperfect  though  it  be, 
and  see  what  matter  can  be  drawn  from  it  in  support  of  the 
accusation.     What  says  Hough  ?     In  the  outset,  instead  of 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  59 

Perm  being  "  employed,"  as  Mr.  Macaulay  continues  to 
misrepresent  him,  to  solicit  the  Fellows,  it  appears  that  the 
Fellows  had  sent  a  deputation  to  him,  consisting  of  Hough 
and  the  principal  members  of  the  college.  Their  conversa- 
tion lasted  three  hours ;  the  substance  of  it  I  have  given  in 
the  text  of  the  ninth  chapter  of  the  memoir :  Mr.  Macaulay's 
version  of  it  is  inexact  in  all  its  essential  particulars.  "  He 
then  tried  a  gentler  tone/'  The  historian  does  not  seem  to 
know  that  two  interviews  took  place,  one  at  Oxford,  the 
other  at  Windsor,  with  six  weeks  of  an  interval ;  there  is 
no  evidence,  except  the  spurious  letter,  that  he  ever  used 
other  than  a  gentle  tone.  He  "  began  to  hint  at  a  compro- 
mise :"  the  words  of  Hough  are — "  I  thank  God  he  did  not 
so  much  as  offer  at  any  proposal  by  way  of  accommodation. " 
How  reconcile  such  statements?  Now  let  us  hear  what 
Hough  says  of  the  simony  and  perjury.  Penn,  who,  accord- 
ing to  Swift,  "  spoke  agreeably  and  with  spirit/'  was  always 
more  or  less  facetious  in  conversation.  Like  his  father,  he 
was  fond  of  a  joke,  and  had  that  delight  in  drollery  which 
belongs  to  the  highest  natures.  In  this  very  conversation 
we  see  how  he  made  his  rhetoric  dance — "  Christ  Church  is 
a  noble  structure,  University  is  a  pleasant  place,  and  Mag- 
dalen College  is  a  comely  building."  Hough,  though  not 
the  most  quick-witted  of  men,  saw  that  he  "  had  a  mind  to 
droll  upon  us."  Stolid  and  heavy,  Hough  no  doubt  reported 
the  conversation  honestly,  so  far  as  he  could  remember  and 
understand  it.  To  quote  his  words — "  Once  he  said,  smil- 
ing, If  the  Bishop  of  Oxford  die,  Dr.  Hough  may  be  made 
Bishop.  What  think  you  of  that,  gentlemen  V  Cradock, 
one  of  the  Fellows  present,  took  up  the  tone  of  pleasantry, 
and  replied,  "  They  should  be  heartily  glad  of  it — for  it 
would  do  very  well  with  the  presidency."  Does  any  one 
doubt  that  this  was  a  mere  pleasantry  ?  Observe,  Penn  had 
no  commission  to  treat  with  the  Fellows, — that  he  met  them 
at  their  own  request,  to  consider  how  he  could  serve  their 


60  A   BRIEF    MEMOIR 

interests.  That  Cradock  thought  it  a  joke  is  evident  from 
his  retort.  Had  the  suggestion  of  the  bishopric  been  in 
earnest,  it  must  have  been  offered  on  condition  of  Hough 
giving  up  the  presidency  of  his  college — that  being  the  point 
at  issue.  In  such  a  case,  to  talk  of  the  combination  of  the 
two  offices  would  have  been  insulting  and  absurd.  Even 
Hough  himself,  the  least  jocular  of  men,  understood  this 
remark  as  a  mere  pleasantry,  for  he  instantly  adds,  "  But, 
I  told  him,  seriously,  I  had  no  ambition. "  And  yet  this 
innocent  mirth,  accepted  and  understood  as  such  by  all  the 
parties  concerned,  after  a  lapse  of  nearly  two  centuries,  is 
revived  and  tortured  into  a  ground  for  one  of  the  foulest 
accusations  ever  brought  against  an  historical  reputation  ! 
Is  this  English  History? 

Having  far  exceeded  the  limits  of  my  original  intention, 
which  was  only  to  introduce  William  Penn  to  the  rising 
generation,  and  thereby  induce  the  spirit  of  inquiry  to  read 
the  various  able  biographies  written  of  him, — to  which,  and 
his  autobiography,  I  now  make  every  acknowledgement  for 
the  liberties  I  have  taken  with  them  in  compiling  this 
sketch, — I  have  to  regret  that,  even  after  lengthening  my 
sJwrt  memoir  to  its  present  extent,  I  have  so  signally  failed 
to  portray  him  in  his  full  and  diversified  character.  I  have 
met  with  nothing,  in  my  opinion,  that  has  done  him  justice, 
neither  as  a  Christian  nor  lawgiver,  highly  as  he  has  been 
extolled  for  both.  I  did  not  know,  when  I  penned  my 
sketch,  that  he  had  ever  been  likened  unto  Moses.  When 
we  consider  the  darkness  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived,  both 
in  a  religious  and  political  point  of  view, — the  circumstances 
that  surrounded  him, — and  contrast  him  with  his  fellows, 
which  is  the  only  correct  method  to  obtain  a  true  picture, 
we  find  him  determined  at  all  hazards  to  do  good,  surmount- 
ing every  obstacle  that  parental  authority  wielding  an  im- 
mense estate  could  do  to  intimidate  him,  together  with  the 


OF   WILLIAM    PENN.  61 

laws  of  his  benighted  country,  which  inflicted  most  direful 
punishments  and  persecutions  upon  him;  than,  added  to  all 
this,  the  natural  propensities  of  the  human  heart,  "  which 
is  deceitful  above  all  things  and  desperately  wicked  :" — I 
say,  contrast  him  with  his  fellows,  and  we  find  many  of 
them  pursuing  a  course  diametrically  opposite  to  his.  In- 
deed, every  thing  that  parents,  government,  and  friends 
could  do,  were  brought  into  requisition  to  guard  their  mo- 
rals; yet,  in  defiance  of  all  these  restraints,  the  number 
who  delighted  to  do  evil  and  throw  themselves  away  was 
very  great.  I  would  call  the  reader's  attention  to  the  dia- 
logue held  between  Sir  William  Penn  and  his  wife,  after 
William's  expulsion  from  hoine,  as  given  by  Weems,  for 
a  clearly-defined  exposition  of  my  views. 

Good  and  great  as  he  was,  he  was  not  shielded  from  the 
attacks  of  the  ignorant  and  designing.  '  I,  therefore,  take 
the  liberty  of  calling  attention  to  his  biography  by  William 
Hepworth  Dixon  of  England,  written  in  1851 ;  and  that 
also  by  Samuel  M.  Janney  of  Virginia,  written  since  to 
exculpate  him  from  various  charges  recently  promulgated ; 
they  have  succeeded,  without  an  effort,  to  burnish  him  up, 
and  caused  him  to  shine  forth  even  as  the  sun  after  a  sum- 
mer thunderstorm.  Notwithstanding  the  facetious  style 
of  the  Rev.  M.  L.  Weems,  I  think  his  life  of  Penn  should 
be  introduced  into  every  school  in  Pennsylvania,  and  in  as 
many  elsewhere  as  possible. 


(Vl.^w  ♦ 


tmxixn  mnmmik  SUiML 


THE 

EPISTLE   TO   THE   READER. 


Reader  : — 

By  this  short  ensuing  treatise,  thou  wilt  perceive  the  sub- 
ject of  it, — viz. :  The  Light  of  Christ  in  Man,  as  the  Mani- 
festation of  God's  Love  for  Man's  Happiness.  Now,  foras- 
much as  this  is  the  peculiar  testimony  and  characteristic 
of  the  people  called  Quakers, — their  great  fundamental  in 
religion, — that  by  which  they  have  been  distinguished  from 
other  professors  of  Christianity  in  their  time,  and  to  which 
they  refer  all  people  about  faith,  worship,  and  practice  both 
in  their  ministry  and  writings, — that  as  the  fingers  shoot  out 
of  the  hand,  and  the  branches  from  the  body  of  the  tree, — 
so  true  religion,  in  all  the  parts  and  articles  of  it,  springs 
from  this  divine  principle  in  man.  And  because  the  preju- 
dices of  some  are  very  great  against  this  people  and  their 
way ;  and  that  others,  who  love  their  seriousness  and  com- 
mend their  good  life,  are  yet,  through  mistakes,  or  want  of 
inquiry,  under  jealousy  of  their  unsoundness  in  some  points 
of  faith ;  and  that  there  are  not  a  few  in  all  persuasions 
which  desire  earnestly  to  know  and  enjoy  God  in  that  sen- 
sible manner  this  people  speak  of,  and  who  seem  to  long 
after  a  state  of  holiness  and  acceptance  with  God,  but  are 
under  doubts  and  despondings  of  their  attaining  it,  from  the 
want  they  find  in  themselves  of  inward  power  to  enable 
them,  and  are  unacquainted  with  this  efficacious  agent  which 
God  hath  given  and  appointed  for  their  supply. 

For  these  reasons  and  motives,  know,  reader,  I  have  taken 

in  hand  to  write  this  small  tract  of  the  nature  and  virtue 

of  the  light  of  Christ  within  man ;  what  and  where  it  is, 

l*  5 


G  THE    EPISTLE    TO    THE    READER. 

and  for  what  end,  and  therein  of  the  religion  of  the  people 
called  Quakers ;  that,  at  the  same  time,  all  people  may  be 
informed  of  their  true  character,  and  what  true  religion  is, 
and  the  way  to  it,  in  this  age  of  high  pretences  and  as  deep 
irreligion  ;  that  so  the  merciful  visitation  of  the  God  of  light 
and  love,  (more  especially  to  these  nations,)  both  immedi- 
ately and  instrumentally  for  the  promotion  of  piety,  (which 
is  religion  indeed,)  may  no  longer  be  neglected  by  the  inha- 
bitants thereof,  but  that  they  may  come  to  see  and  say,  with 
heart  and  mouth,  this  is  a  dispensation  of  love  and  life  from 
God  to  the  world ;  and  this  poor  people,  that  we  have  so 
much  despised,  and  so  often  trod  upon,  and  treated  as  the 
off-scouring  of  the  earth,  are  the  people  of  God  and  chil- 
dren of  the  Most  High.  Bear  with  me,  reader;  I  know 
what  I  say,  and  am  not  high-minded,  but  fear  •  for  I  write 
with  humility  towards  God,  though  with  confidence  towards 
thee;  not  that  thou  shouldst  believe  upon  my  authority 
nothing  less,  for  that's  not  to  act  upon  knowledge,  but  trust, 
but  that  thou  shouldst  try  and  approve  what  I  write ;  for 
that  is  all  I  ask,  as  well  as  all  I  need  for  thy  conviction  and 
my  own  justification.  The  whole,  indeed,  being  but  a  Scrip- 
tural experiment  upon  the  soul,  and  therefore  seeks  for  no 
implicit  credit,  because  it  is  self-evident  to  them  that  will 
uprightly  try  it. 

And  when  thou,  reader,  shalt  come  to  be  acquainted  with 
this  principle,  and  the  plain  and  happy  teachings  of  it,  thou 
wilt  with  us  admire  thou  shouldst  live  so  long  a  stranger  to 
that  which  was  so  near  thee,  and  as  much  wonder  that  other 
folks  should  be  so  blind  as  not  to  see  it,  as  formerly  thou 
thoughtest  us  singular  for  obeying  it.  The  day,  I  believe, 
is  at  hand  that  will  declare  this  with  an  uncontrollable  au- 
thority, because  it  will  be  with  an  unquestionable  evidence. 

I  have  done,  reader,  with  this  preface  when  I  have  told 
thee : — first,  that  I  have  stated  the  principle  and  opened,  as 
God  has  enabled  me,  the  nature  and  virtue  of  it  in  religion, 


THE    EPISTLE    TO    THE    READER.  7 

wherein  the  common  doctrines  and  articles  of  the  Christian 
religion  are  delivered  and  improved,  and  about  which  I 
have  endeavoured  to  express  myself  in  plain  and  proper 
terms,  and  not  in  figurative,  allegorical  or  doubtful  phrases, 
that  so  I  may  leave  no  room  for  an  equivocal  or  double 
sense;  but  that  the  truth  of  the  subject  I  treat  upon  may 
appear  easily  and  evidently  to  every  common  understand- 
ing. Next,  I  have  confirmed  what  I  writ  by  Scripture, 
reason,  and  the  effects  of  it  upon  so  great  a  people,  whose 
uniform  concurrence  in  the  experience  and  practice  thereof, 
through  all  times  and  sufferings  since  a  people,  challenge 
the  notice  and  regard  of  every  serious  reader.  Thirdly,  1 
have  written  briefly,  that  so  it  might  be  every  one's  money 
and  reading;  and,  much  in  a  little  is  best,  when  we  see 
daily  that  the  richer  people  grow,  the  less  money  or  time 
they  have  for  God  or  religion ;  and  perhaps  those  that  would 
not  buy  a  large  book  may  find  in  their  hearts  to  give  away 
some  of  these  for  their  neighbour's  good,  being  little  and 
cheap.  Be  serious,  reader,  be  impartial,  and  then  be  as  in- 
quisitive as  thou  canst,  and  that  for  thine  own  soul,  as  well 
as  the  credit  of  this  most  misunderstood  and  abused  people  3 
and  the  God  and  Father  of  lights  and  spirits  so  bless  thine, 
in  the  perusal  of  this  short  treatise,  that  thou  may'st  receive 
real  benefit  by  it,  to  his  glory  and  thine  own  comfort,  which 
is  the  desire  and  end  of  him  that  wrote  it ;  who  is,  in  the 
bonds  of  Christian  charity,  very  much  and  very  ardently, 

Thy  real  friend, 

William  Penn. 


PRIMITIVE  CHRISTIANITY  REVIVED,  ETC. 


CHAPTER  I. 


§  1.  Their  Fundamental  Principle.  \  2.  The  Nature  of  it.  \  3.  Called 
by  several  names.  §  4.  They  refer  all  to  this,  as  to  Faith  and 
Practice,  Ministry  and  Worship. 

§  1.  That  which  the  people  called  Quakers  lay 
down  as  a  main  fundamental  in  religion  is  this — 
That  God,  through  Christ,  hath  placed  a  principle 
in  every  man,  to  inform  him  of  his  duty,  and  to 
enable  him  to  do  it;  and  that  those  that  live  up  to 
this  principle  are  the  people  of  God,  and  those  that 
live  in  disobedience  to  it,  are  not  God's  people,  what- 
ever name  they  may  bear,  or  profession  they  may 
maize  of  religion.  This  is  their  ancient,  first,  and 
standing  testimony :  with  this  they  began,  and  this 
they  bore,  and  do  bear  to  the  world. 

§  2.  By  this  principle  they  understand  something 
that  is  divine  ;  and  though  in  man,  yet  not  of  man, 
but  of  God ;  and  that  it  came  from  him,  and  leads  to 
him  all  those  that  will  be  led  by  it. 

§  3.  There  are  divers  ways  of  speaking  they  have 
been  led  to  use,  by  which  they  declare  and  express 
what  this  principle  is,  about  which  I  think  fit  to  pre- 
caution the  reader — viz.,  they  call  it,  The  light  of 
Christ  within  man,  or,  light  within,  which  is  their 
ancient,  and  most  general  and  familiar  phrase,  also 

9 


10  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

the  ^manifestation  2or  appearance  of  Christ,2,  the  hvit- 
ness  of  God,  the  bseed  of  Grod,  the  6seed  of  the  king- 


(J)  John  i.  9.  That  was  the  true  light  which  lighteth  every  man 
that  cometh  into  the  world. 

(a)  Rom.  i.  19.  Because  that  which  may  be  known  of  God  is 
manifest  in  them  ;  for  God  hath  showed  it  unto  them. 

Titus  iii.  4.  But  after  that  the  kindness  and  love  of  God  our 
Saviour  toward  man  appeared. 

(3)  Acts  xvii.  28.  For  in  him  we  live,  and  move,  and  have  our 
being ;  as  certain  also  of  your  own  poets  have  said,  For  we  are  also 
his  offspring. 

2  Peter  i.  4.  Whereby  are  given  unto  us  exceeding  great  and 
precious  promises ;  that  by  these  ye  might  be  partakers  of  the 
divine  nature,  having  escaped  the  corruption  that  is  in  the  world 
through  lust. 

(4)  Rom.  viii.  6.  For  to  be  carnally  minded,  is  death ;  but  to  be 
spiritually  minded,  is  life  and  peace. 

1  John  v.  10-12.  He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  of  God,  hath  the 
witness  in  himself:  he  that  believeth  not  God,  hath  made  him  a 
liar;  because  he  believeth  not  the  record  that  God  gave  of  his 
Son.  And  this  is  the  record,  that  God  hath  given  to  us  eternal  life ; 
and  this  life  is  in  his  Son.  He  that  hath  the  Son,  hath  life  ;  and  he 
that  hath  not  the  Son  of  God,  hath  not  life. 

(5)  1  Peter  i.  23.  Being  born  again,  not  of  corruptible  seed,  but 
of  incorruptible,  by  the  word  of  God,  which  liveth  and  abideth  for- 
ever. 

1  John  iii.  9.  Whosoever  is  born  of  God,  doth  not  commit  sin ; 
for  his  seed  remaineth  in  him :  and  he  cannot  sin,  because  he  is  born 
of  God. 

(6)  Matt.  xiii.  19-23.  When  any  one  heareth  the  word  of  the 
kingdom,  and  understandeth  it  not,  then  cometh  the  wicked  one, 
and  catcheth  away  that  which  was  sown  in  his  heart.  This  is  he 
which  receiveth  seed  by  the  way  side. 

But  he  that  received  the  seed  into  stony  places,  the  same  is  he 
that  heareth  the  word,  and  anon  with  joy  receiveth  it :  yet  hath  he 
not  root  in  himself,  but  dureth  for  a  while  :  for  when  tribulation  or 
persecution  ariseth,  because  of  the  word,  by-and-by  he  is  offended. 

He  also  that  received  seed  among  the  thorns,  is  he  that  heareth 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  11 

dom,  ^  wisdom,  the2word  in  the  heart,  the  grace2,  that 
appears  to  all  men,  the  ^spirit  given  to  every  man  to 

the  word;  and  the  care  of  this  world,  and  the  deceitfulness  oi 
riches,  choke  the  word,  and  he  becometh  unfruitful. 

But  he  that  received  seed  into  the  good  ground,  is  he  that  heareth 
the  word,  and  understandeth  it;  which  also  beareth  fruit,  and 
bringeth  forth,  some  an  hundred-fold,  some  sixty,  some  thirty. 

(*)  Prov.  i.  20-23.  Wisdom  crieth  without;  she  uttereth  her 
voice  in  the  streets :  she  crieth  in  the  chief  place  of  concourse,  in 
the  openings  of  the  gates :  in  the  city  she  uttereth  her  words,  say- 
ing, How  long,  ye  simple  ones,  will  ye  love  simplicity  ?  and  the 
scorners  delight  in  their  scorning,  and  fools  hate  knowledge  ?  Turn 
ye  at  my  reproof:  behold,  I  will  pour  out  my  spirit  unto  you,  I 
will  make  known  my  words  unto  you. 

Prov.  viii.  1-4.  Doth  not  wisdom  cry  ?  and  understanding  put 
forth  her  voice  ?  She  standeth  in  the  top  of  high  places,  by  the 
way  in  the  places  of  the  paths.  She  crieth  at  the  gates,  at  the 
entry  of  the  city,  at  the  coming  in  at  the  doors :  Unto  you,  0  men, 
I  call ;  and  my  voice  is  to  the  sons  of  man. 

(2)  Deut.  xxx.  12-14.  It  is  not  in  heaven,  that  thou  shouldest 
say,  Who  shall  go  up  for  us  to  heaven,  and  bring  it  unto  us,  that  we 
may  hear  it,  and  do  it  ?  Neither  is  it  beyond  the  sea,  that  thou 
shouldest  say,  Who  shall  go  over  the  sea  for  us,  and  bring  it  unto 
us,  that  we  may  hear  it,  and  do  it  ?  But  the  word  is  very  nigh  unto 
thee,  in  thy  mouth,  and  in  thy  heart,  that  thou  mayest  do  it. 

Rom.  x.  6-8.  But  the  righteousness  which  is  of  faith  speaketh 
on  this  wise,  Say  not  in  thine  heart,  Who  shall  ascend  into  heaven  ? 
(that  is,  to  bring  Christ  down  from  above;)  or,  Who  shall  descend 
into  the  deep?  (that  is,  to  bring  up  Christ  again  from  the  dead:) 
But  what  saith  it  ?  The  word  is  nigh  thee,  even  in  thy  mouth,  and 
in  thy  heart ;   that  is,  the  word  of  faith,  which  we  preach. 

Psalm  cxix.  10.  With  my  whole  heart  have  I  sought  thee :  0  let 
me  not  wander  from  thy  commandments. 

(3)  Titus  ii.  11,  12.  For  the  grace  of  God,  that  bringeth  solva- 
tion, hath  appeared  to  all  men,  teaching  us,  that,  denying  ungodli- 
ness and  worldly  lusts,  we  should  live  soberly,  righteously,  and 
godly,  in  this  present  world. 

(4)  1  Cor.  xii.  7.  But  the  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  is  given  to 
every  man  to  profit  withal. 


12  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

profit  ivith,  the  HrutJi  in  the  inward  parts,  the  Spi- 
ritual leaven  that  leavens  the  whole  lump  of  man  : 
•which  are  many  of  them  figurative  expressions,  but 
all  of  them  such  as  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  used,  and 
which  will  be  used  in  this  treatise,  as  they  are  most 
frequently  in  the  writings  and  ministry  of  this  peo- 
ple. But  that  this  variety  and  manner  of  expression 
may  not  occasion  any  misapprehension  or  confusion 
in  the  understanding  of  the  reader,  I  would  have  him 
know,  that  they  always  mean  by  these  terms  or  deno- 
minations, not  another,  but  the  same  principle,  before 
mentioned  ;  which,  as  I  said,  though  it  be  in  man,  is 
not  of  man,  but  of  God,  and  therefore  olivine :  and 
one  in  itself,  though  diversely  expressed  by  the  holy 
men,  according  to  the  various  manifestations  and 
operations  thereof. 

4.  It  is  to  this  principle  of  Light,  Life,  and  Grace, 
that  this  People  refer  all :  for  they  say  it  is  the  great 
Agent  in  Religion;  that,  without  which,  there  is  no 
Conviction,  so  no  Conversion,  or  Regeneration;  and 
consequently  no  entering  into  the  Kingdom  of  God. 
That  is  to  say,  there  can  be  no  true  sight  of  sin,  nor 
sorrow  for  it,  and  therefore  no  forsaking  or  over- 
coming of  it,  or  Remission  or  Justification  from  it. 
A  necessary  and    powerful    Principle    indeed,  when 


( ')  Psalm  li.  6.  Behold,  thou  desirest  truth  in  the  inward  parts : 
and  in  the  hidden  part  thou  shalt  make  me  to  know  wisdom. 

Isaiah  xxvi.  2.  Open  ye  the  gates,  that  the  righteous  nation 
which  keepeth  the  truth  may  enter  in. 

John  xiv.  6.  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  I  am  the  way,  and  the  truth, 
and  the  life :  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  me. 

(2)  Matt.  xiii.  33.  Another  parable  spake  he  unto  them;  The 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  leaven,  which  a  woman  took,  and 
hid  in  three  measures  of  meal,  till  the  whole  was  leavened. 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  13 

neither  Sanctification  nor  Justification  can  be  had 
without  it.  In  short,  there  is  no  becoming  virtuous, 
holy  and  good,  without  this  Principle ;  no  acceptance 
with  God,  nor  peace  of  soul,  but  through  it.  But  on 
the  contrary,  that  the  reason  of  so  much  irreligion 
among  Christians,  so  much  superstition,  instead  of 
Devotion,  and  so  much  profession  without  enjoyment, 
and  so  little  Heart-reformation,  is,  because  people  in 
religion,  overlook  this  Principle,  and  leave  it  behind 
them. 

They  will  be  religious  without  it,  and  Christians 
without  it,  though  this  be  the  only  means  of  making 
them  so  indeed. 

So  natural  is  it  to  Man,  in  his  degenerate  state,  to 
prefer  sacrifice  before  obedience,  and  to  make  prayers 
go  for  practice,  and  so  flatter  himself  with  hope,  by 
ceremonial  and  bodily  service,  to  excuse  himself  to 
God  from  the  stricter  discipline  of  this  Principle  in 
the  soul,  which  leads  Man  to  take  up  the  Cross, 
deny  self,  and  do  that  which  God  requires  of  him : 
and  that  is  every  man's  true  religion,  and  every  such 
man  is  truly  religious ;  that  is,  he  is  holy,  humble, 
patient,  meek,  merciful,  just,  kind,  and  charitable ; 
which  they  say,  no  man  can  make  himself;  but  that 
this  principle  will  make  all  men  so  that  will  embrace 
the  convictions  and  teachings  of  it,  being  the  root  of 
all  true  religion  in  man,  and  the  good  seed  from 
whence  all  good  fruits  proceed.  To  sum  up  what 
they  say  upon  the  nature  and  virtue  of  it,  as  contents 
of  that  which  follows,  they  declare  that  this  principle 
is,  first,  divine;  secondly,  universal;  thirdly,  effica- 
cious ;  in  that  it  gives  man,  first,  the  knowledge  of 
God  and  of  himself,  and  therein  a  sight  of  his  duty 
and   disobedience  to  it.     Secondly,  it  begets  a  true 


14  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

sense  and  sorrow  for  sin  in  those  that  seriously 
regard  the  convictions  of  it.  Thirdly,  it  enables  tltem 
to  forsake  sin,  and  sanctifies  from  it.  Fourthly, 
it  applies  God's  mercies  in  Christ  for  the  forgiveness 
of  sins  that  are  past,  unto  justification,  upon  such 
sincere  repentance  and  obedience.  Fifthly,  it  gives 
to  the  faithful,  perseverance  unto  a  perfect  man,  and 
the  assurance  of  blessedness,  ivorld  without  end. 

To  the  truth  of  all  which,  they  call  in  a  threefold 
evidence :  First,  the  Scriptures,  which  give  an  ample 
witness,  especially  those  of  the  New  and  better  Tes- 
tament. Secondly,  the  reasonableness  of  it  in  itself. 
And  lastly,  a  general  experience,  in  great  measure ; 
but  particularly,  their  own,  made  credible  by  the  good 
fruits  they  have  brought  forth,  and  the  answer  God 
has  given  to  their  ministry :  which,  to  impartial  ob- 
servers, have  commended  the  principle,  and  gives 
me  occasion  to  abstract  their  history,  in  divers  par- 
ticulars, for  a  conclusion  to  this  little  treatise. 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  15 


CHAPTER   II. 

\  1.  The  evidence  of  Scripture  for  this  Principle,  John  i.  4-9.  In 
Him  was  life ;  and  the  life  was  the  light  of  men.  That  was  the 
true  Light,  which  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world. 
I  2.  Its  Divinity.  g  3.  All  things  created  by  it.  \  4.  What  it  is 
to  Man  as  to  Salvation. 

§  1.  I  shall  begin  with  the  evidence  of  the  blessed 
Scriptures  of  Truth,  for  this  divine  principle,  and  that 
under  the  name  of  light,  the  first  and  most  common 
word  used  by  them,  to  express  and  denominate  this 
principle  by,  as  well  as  most  apt  and  proper  in  this 
dark  state  of  the  world. 

John  i.  1.  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the 
Word  was  with  Grod,  and  the  Word  was  Grod. 
'  Verse  3.  All  things  were  made  by  him. 

Verse  4.  In  him  ivas  life,  and  the  life  was  the 
light  of  men. 

Verse  9.  That  ivas  the  true  Light,  which  lighteth 
every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world. 

§  2.  I  have  begun  with  him  that  began  his  history 
with  him  that  was  the  beginning  of  the  creation  of 
Grod •  the  most  beloved  disciple,  and  longest  liver  of 
all  the  apostles,  and  he,  that  for  excellent  knowledge 
and  wisdom  in  heavenly  things,  is  justly  entitled 
John  the  divine.  He  tells  us  first,  what  he  was  in 
the  beginning,  viz.  The  Word.  In  the  beginning 
was  the  Word. 

And  though  that  shows  what  the  Word  must  be. 


16  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

jet  he  adds  and  explains,  that  the  Word  was  with 
Grod,  and  the  Word  was  God ;  lest  any  should  doubt 
of  the  divinity  of  the  Word,  or  have  lower  thoughts 
of  him  than  he  deserved.  The  Word  then,  is  divine, 
and  an  apt  term  it  is,  that  the  evangelist  styles  him  by, 
since  it  is  so  great  an  expression  of  the  wisdom  and 
power  of  God  to  men. 

§  3.  All  things  were  made  by  Him.  If  so,  he 
wants  no  power.  And  if  we  were  made  by  him,  we 
must  be  new  made  by  him  too,  or  we  never  can  enjoy 
God.  His  power  shows  his  dignity,  and  that  nothing 
can  be  too  hard  for  such  a  sufficiency  as  made  all 
things,  and  without  which  nothing  was  made,  that 
was  made.  As  man's  maker  must  be  his  husband,  so 
his  Creator  must  be  his  Redeemer  also. 

§  4.  In  him  was  life,  and  the  life  was  the  light  of 
men.  This  is  our  point.  The  evangelist  first  begins 
with  the  nature  and  being  of  the  Word :  from  thence 
he  descends  to  the  works  of  the  Word:  and  lastly, 
then  he  tells  us,  what  the  Word  is,  with  respect  to 
man  above  the  rest  of  the  creation,  viz.  The  Word 
was  life,  and  the  life  was  the  light  of  men.  The  re- 
lation must  be  very  near  and  intimate,  when  the  very 
life  of  the  Word  (that  was  with  G-od,  and  was  God) 
is  the  light  of  men:  as  if  men  were  next  to  the 
Word,  and  above  all  the  rest  of  his  works ;  for  it  is 
not  said  so  of  any  other  creature. 

Man  cannot  want  light  then ;  no  not  a  divine 
light :  for  if  this  be  not  divine,  that  is  the  life  of  the 
divine  word,  there  can  be  no  such  thing  at  all  as  di- 
vine or  su2?ernatural  light  and  life.  And  the  text 
does  not  only  prove  the  divinity  of  the  light,  but  the 
■universality  of  it  also,  because  man  mentioned  in  it, 
is  mankind:  which  is  yet  more  distinctly  expressed 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  17 

in  his  9th  verse,  That  was  the  true  light,  which 
lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world.  Im- 
plying, that  he  that  lighteth  not  mankind  is  not  that 
true  light  •  and  therefore  John  was  not  that  light, 
but  bore  witness  of  him  that  was,  who  lighteth  every 
man  ;  to  wit,  the  Word  that  took  flesh  :  so  that  both 
the  divine  nature,  and  universality  of  the  light  of 
Christ  within,  are  confirmed  together. 


CHAPTER  III. 


\  1.  How  this  Scripture  is  wrested.  \  2.  That  it  is  a  Natural 
Light.  I  3.  That  it  lighteth  not  all.  \  4.  That  it  is  only  the 
Doctrine  and  Life  of  Christ  when  in  the  Flesh.  All  answered, 
and  its  Divinity  and  Universality  proved. 

§  1.  But  though  there  be  no  passage  or  proposition 
to  be  found  in  Holy  Scripture,  in  which  mankind  is 
more  interested,  or  that  is  more  clearly  laid  down  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  than  this  I  have  produced,  yet 
hardly  hath  any  place  been  more  industriously 
wrested  from  its  true  and  plain  sense  :  especially 
since  this  people  have  laid  any  stress  upon  it,  in  de- 
fence of  their  testimony  of  the  light  within.  Some 
will  have  it  to  be  but  a  natural  light,  or  a  fart  of 
man's  nature,  though  it  be  the  very  life  of  the  Word, 
by  which  the  world  was  made ;  and  mentioned  within 
those  verses,  which  only  concern  his  eternal  power 
and  Grodhead.  But  because  I  would  be  understood, 
and  treat  of  things  with  all  plainness,  I  will  open  the 
terms  of  the  objection  as  well  as  I  can,  and  then  give 
my  answer  to  it. 

7* 


18  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

§  2.  If  by  natural  be  meant  a  created  thing,  as  man 
is,  or  any  thing  that  is  requisite  to  the  composition 
of  man,  I  deny  it :  the  text  is  expressly  against  it ; 
and  says,  the  light  with  which  man  is  lighted,  is  the 
life  of  the  word,  which  ivas  with  Grod,  and  was  Gf-od. 
But  if  by  natural  is  only  intended,  that  the  light  comes 
along  with  us  into  the  world ;  or  that  we  have  it  as 
sure  as  we  are  born,  or  have-  nature ;  and  is  the  light 
of  our  nature,  of  our  minds  and  understandings,  and 
is  not  the  result  of  any  revelation  from  without,  as  by 
angels  or  men ;  then  we  mean  and  intend  the  same 
thing.  For  it  is  natural  to  man  to  have  a  supernatural 
light,  and  for  the  creature  to  be  lighted  by  an  uncre- 
ated light,  as  is  the  life  of  the  creating  word.  And 
did  people  but  consider  the  constitution  of  man,  it 
would  conduce  much  to  preserve  or  deliver  them  from 
any  dilemma  upon  this  account.  For  man  can  be  no 
more  a  light  to  his  mind,  than  he  is  to  his  body :  he 
has  the  capacity  of  seeing  objects  when  he  has  the 
help  of  light,  but  cannot  be  a  light  to  himself,  by 
which  to  see  them.  Wherefore  as  the  sun  in  the 
firmament  is  the  light  of  the  body,  and  gives  us  dis- 
cerning in  our  temporal  affairs  ;  so  the  life  of  the  ivord 
is  the  glorious  light  and  sun  of  the  soul :  our  intellec- 
tual luminary,  that  informs  our  mind,  and  gives  us 
true  judgment  and  distinction  about  those  things  that 
more  immediately  concern  our  better,  inward  and 
eternal  man. 

§  3.  But  others  will  have  this  text  read  thus,  not 
that  the  word  enlightens  all  mankind,  but  that  all 
who  are  enlightened,  are  enlightened  by  him,  thereby 
not  only  narrowing  and  abusing  the  text,  but  render- 
ing God  partial,  and  so  severe  to  his  creatures,  as  to 
leave  the  greatest  part  of  the  world  in  darkness,  with- 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  19 

out  the  means  or  opportunity  of  salvation  ;  though  we 
are  assured  from  the  Scriptures  that  xall  have  light, 
that  Christ  is  the  2light  of  the  world,  and  that  he 
3died  for  all ;  yea,  the  4ungodly,  and  that  Grod  de- 
sires not  the  5death  of  any,  but  rather  that  all  should 
repent  and  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  and 
be  saved;  and  ethat  the  grace  of  God  has  appeared 
to  all  men,  &c. 

§4.  There  is  a  third  sort  that  will  needs  have  it 
understood,  not  of  any  illumination  by  a  divine  light 
or  spirit  in  man,  but  by  the  doctrine  Christ  preached, 
and  the  life  and  example  he  lived,  and  led  in  the 
world ;  and  which  yet  neither  reached  the  thousandth 
part  of  mankind,  nor  can  consist  with  what  the  apostle 
John  intends  in  the  beginning  of  his  history,  which 
wholly  relates  to  what  Christ  was  before  he  took 
flesh,  or  at  least,  what  he  is  to  the  soul,  by  his  im- 
mediate inshinings  and  influences.  'Tis  most  true, 
Christ  was,  in  a  sense,  the  light  of  the  world,  in  that 

(')  John  i.  4,  9.  In  him  was  life ;  and  the  life  was  the  light  of 
men.  That  was  the  trne  Light,  which  lighteth  every  man  that  com- 
eth  into  the  world. 

(a)  Chap.  viii.  12.  Then  spake  Jesus  again  unto  them,  saying, 
I  am  the  light  of  the  world :  he  that  followeth  me  shall  not  walk 
in  darkness,  but  shall  have  the  light  of  life. 

(3)  Rom.  v.  6.  For  when  we  were  yet  without  strength,  in  due 
time,  Christ  died  for  the  ungodly. 

(4)  2  Cor.  v.  15.  And  that  he  died  for  all,  that  they  which  live, 
should  not  henceforth  live  unto  themselves,  but  unto  him  which 
died  for  them,  and  rose  again. 

(5)  1  Tim.  ii.  4.  Who  will  have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  to  come 
unto  the  knowledge  of  the  truth. 

(6)  Tit.  ii.  11,  12.  For  the  grace  of  God,  that  bringeth  salvation, 
hath  appeared  to  all  men,  teaching  us,  that,  denying  ungodliness 
and  worldly  lusts,  we  should  live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly, 
in  this  present  world. 


20  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

very  appearance,  and  slimed  forth  by  his  heavenly 
doctrine,  many  admirable  miracles,  and  his  self-deny- 
ing life  and  death:  but  still  that  hinders  not,  but 
that  he  was  and  is  that  spiritual  light,  which  shineth 
more  or  less,  in  the  hearts  of  the  sons  and  daughters  of 
men.  For  as  he  was  a  light  in  his  life  and  conversation, 
he  was  only  a  light  in  a  more  excellent  sense  than  he 
spoke  of  to  his  disciples,  when  he  said,  Ye  are  the 
lights  of  the  world.  But  Christ  the  word  enlightened 
them,  and  enlightens  us,  and  enlightens  all  men  that 
come  into  the  world ;  which  he  could  not  be  said  to 
do,  if  we  only  regard  his  personal  and  outward  ap- 
pearance :  for  in  that  sense  it  is  long  since  he  was 
that  light,  but  in  this  he  is  continually  so.  In  that 
respect  he  is  remote,  but  in  this  sense  he  is  present 
and  immediate,  else  we  should  render  the  text,  That 
ivas  the  true  light  which  did  lighten,  instead  of  tvhich 
UgJiteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world.  And 
that  the  evangelist  might  be  so  understood,  as  we 
speak,  he  refers  to  this  as  an  evidence  of  Ms  being 
the  Messiah,  and  not  John  ;  for  whom  many  people 
had  much  reverence,  for  in  verse  eighth  he  saith  of 
John,  He  was  not  that  light,  but  was  sent  to  bear 
'witness  of  that  light:  now  comes  his  proof  and  our 
testimony,  that  was  the  true  light  which  lighteth 
every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world  ;  which  was  not 
John,  or  any  else,  but  the  word  that  was  with  God, 
and  was  God. 

The  evangelist  did  not  describe  him  by  his  fasting 
forty  days,  preaching  so  many  sermons,  working  so 
many  miracles,  and  living  so  holy  a  life ;  and,  after 
all,  so  patiently  suffering  death,  (which  yet  Christ 
did)  thereby  to  prove  him  the  light  of  the  world  ;  but, 
says  the  evangelist,  That  was  the  true  light,  the  ivord 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  21 

in  flesh,  the  Messiah,  and  not  John,  or  any  else,  which 
lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world.  So 
that  Christ  is  manifested  and  distinguished  by  giving 
light :  and  indeed  so  are  all  his  followers  from  other 
people,  by  receiving  and  obeying  it.  There  are  many 
other  Scriptures,  of  both  Testaments,  that  refer  to  the 
light  within  ;  either  expressly,  or  implicitly ;  which,  for 
brevity's  sake,  I  shall  waive  reciting  ;  but  the  reader 
will  find  some  directions  in  the  margin,  which  will 
guide  him  to  them. 

The  Scriptures  referred  to  are  as  follows. 

Job  xviii.  5,  6.  Yea,  the  light  of  the  wicked  shall  be 
put  out,  and  the  spark  of  his  fire  shall  not  shine.  The 
light  shall  be  dark  in  his  tabernacle,  and  his  candle 
shall  be  put  out  with  him. 

Chap.  xxi.  17.  How  oft  is  the  candle  of  the  wicked 
put  out  ?  and  how  oft  cometh  their  destruction  upon 
them  ?     God  distributeth  sorrows  in  his  anger. 

Chap.  xxv.  3.  Is  there  any  number  of  his  armies  ? 
and  upon  whom  doth  not  his  light  arise. 

Chap,  xxxviii.  15.  And  from  the  wicked  their  light 
is  withholden,  and  the  high  arm  shall  be  broken. 

Psalm  xviii.  28.  For  thou  wilt  light  my  candle : 
the  Lord  my  God  will  lighten  my  darkness. 

Psalm  xxvii.  1.  The  Lord  is  my  light  and  my  sal- 
vation ;  who  shall  I  fear  ?  The  Lord  is  the  strength 
of  my  life ;  of  whom  shall  I  be  afraid  ? 

Psalm  xxxiv.  5.  They  looked  unto  him,  and  were 
lightened  :  and  their  faces  were  not  ashamed. 

Psalm  xxxvi.  9.  For  with  thee  is  the  fountain  of 
life  :  in  thy  light  shall  we  see  light. 

Psalm  cxviii.  27.  God  is  the  Lord,  which  hath 
showed  us  light :  bind  the  sacrifice  with  cords,  even 
unto  the  horns  of  the  altar. 


22  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

Psalm  cxix.  105.  Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my  feet, 
and  a  light  unto  my  path. 

Prov.  xiii.  9.  The  light  of  the  righteous  rejoiceth: 
but  the  lamp  of  the  wicked  shall  be  put  out. 

Prov.  xx.  20,  27.  Whoso  curseth  his  father  or  his 
mother,  his  lamp  shall  be  put  out  in  obscure  darkness. 
The  spirit  of  man  is  the  candle  of  the  Lord,  search- 
ing all  the  inward  parts  of  the  belly. 

Prov.  xxiv.  20.  For  there  shall  be  no  reward  to  the 
evil  man ;  the  candle  of  the  wicked  shall  be  put  out. 

Isa.  ii.  5.  0  house  of  Jacob,  come  ye,  and  let  us 
walk  in  the  light  of  the  Lord. 

Isa.  viii.  20.  To  the  law  and  to  the  testimony  :  if 
they  speak  not  according  to  this  word,  it  is  because 
there  is  no  light  in  them. 

Isa.  xlii.  6.  I  the  Lord  have  called  thee  in  right- 
eousness, and  will  hold  thine  hand,  and  will  keep  thee, 
and  give  thee  for  a  covenant  of  the  people,  for  a  light 
of  the  Gentiles : 

Isa.  xlix.  6.  And  he  said,  It  is  a  light  thing  that 
thou  shouldst  be  my  servant,  to  raise  up  the  tribes 
of  Jacob,  and  to  restore  the  preserved  of  Israel :  I 
will  also  give  thee  for  a  light  to  the  Gentiles,  that 
thou  mayest  be  my  salvation  unto  the  end  of  the 
earth. 

1  Peter  ii.  9.  But  ye  are  a  chosen  generation,  a 
royal  priesthood,  an  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people ; 
that  ye  should  shew  forth  the  praises  of  him  who 
hath  called  you  out  of  darkness  into  his  marvellous 
light: 

1  John  ii.  8.  Again,  a  new  commandment  I  write 
unto  you,  which  thing  is  true  in  him,  and  in  you ; 
because  the  darkness  is  past,  and  the  true  light  now 
shineth. 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  23 


CHAPTER  IV. 

§  1.  The  virtue  of  the  light  within  ;  it  gives  discerning.  \  2.  It  mani- 
fests God.  ?£  3.  It  gives  life  to  the  soul.  \  4.  It  is  the  apostolic 
message.  \  5.  Objection  answered  about  two  lights.  \  6.  About- 
natural  and  spiritual  light:  not  two  darknesses  within,  therefore  not 
two  lights  within,  g  7.  The  Apostle  John  answers  the  objection  fully  : 
the  light  the  same,  1  John  ii.  8,  9.  Again,  a  new  commandment 
I  write  unto  you,  "which  thing  is  true  in  him,  and  in  you ;  be- 
cause the  darkness  is  past,  and  the  true  light  now  shineth.  He 
that  saith  he  is  in  the  light,  and  hateth  his  brother,  is  in  dark- 
ness even  until  now 

§  1.  The  third  thing,  is  the  virtue  and  efficacy  of 
this  light  for  the  end  for  which  God  hath  ^given  it, 
viz.  To  lead  and  guide  the  soul  of  man  to  blessed- 
ness. In  order  to  which,  the  first  thing  it  does  in 
and  for  man,  is  to  give  him  a  true  sight  or  discerning 
of  himself:  what  he  is,  and  what  he  does  ;  that  he  may 
see  and  know  his  own  condition,  and  what  judgment  to 
make  of  himself,  with  respect  to  religion  and  a  future 
state  :  of  which,  let  us  hear  what  the  word  himself 
saith,  that  cannot  err,  as  John  relates  it,  chap.  iii. 
20,  21.  "  For  every  one  that  doeth  evil,  hateth  the 
light,  neither  cometh  to  the  light,  lest  his  deeds  should 
be  reproved.  But  he  that  doth  truth  cometh  to  the 
light,  that  his  deeds  may  be  made  manifest,  that  they 
are  wrought  in  God." 

A  most  pregnant  instance  of  the  virtue  and  author- 
ity of  the  light.  First,  it  is  that  which  men  ought 
to  examine  themselves  by.     Secondly,  it  gives  a  true 


24  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

discerning  betwixt  good  and  bad,  what  is  of  God, 
from  what  is  not  of  God.  And,  lastly,  it  is  a  judge, 
and  condemneth  or  acquitteth,  reproveth  or  comforteth, 
the  soul  of  man,  as  he  rejects  or  obeys  it.  That  must 
needs  be  divine  or  efficacious,  which  is  able  to  disco- 
ver to  man,  what  is  of  God,  from  what  is  not  of  God ; 
and  which  gives  him  a  distinct  knowledge,  in  himself, 
of  what  is  wrought  in  God,  from  what  is  not  wrought 
in  God.  By  which  it  appears,  that  this  place  does  not 
only  regard  the  discovery  of  man  and  his  works,  but, 
in  some  measure,  it  manifesteth  God,  and  his  ivorks 
also,  which  is  yet  something  higher ;  forasmuch  as  it 
gives  the  obedient  man  a  discovery  of  what  is  wrought 
or  performed  by  God's  poiver,  and  after  his  will, 
from  what  is  the  mere  workings  of  the  creature  of 
himself. 

If  it  could  not  manifest  God,  it  could  not  tell  man 
what  was  God's  mind,  nor  give  him  such  a  grounded 
sense  and  discerning  of  the  rise,  nature,  and  tendency 
of  the  workings  of  his  mind  or  inward  man,  as  is 
both  expressed  and  abundantly  implied  in  this  pas- 
sage of  our  Saviour.  And  if  it  reveals  God,  to-be- 
sure  it  manifests  Christ,  that  flows  and  comes  from  God. 
Who  then  would  oppose  or  slight  this  blessed  light  ? 

§  2.  But  that  this  light  doth  manifest  God,  is  yet 
evident  from  Rom.  i.  19.  Because  that  which  may 
be  known  of  God,  is  manifest  in  them :  for  God  hath 
showed  it  unto  them.  An  universal  proposition  ;  and 
we  have  the  apostle's  word  for  it,  who  was  one  of  a 
thousand,  and  inspired  on  purpose  to  tell  us  the  truth : 
let  it  then  have  its  due  weight  with  us.  If  that  which 
may  be  known  of  God  is  manifest  in  men,  the  people 
called  Quakers  cannot,  certainly,  be  out  of  the  way  in 
preaching  up  the  light  within,  without  which,  nothing 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY   REVIVED.  25 

can  be  manifested  to  the  mind  of  man ;  as  saith  the 
same  apostle  to  the  Ephesians,  Eph.  v.  13. 

But  all  things  that  are  reproved,  are  made  mani- 
fest by  the  light :  for  whatsoever  doth  make  manifest, 
is  light.  Well  then  may  they  call  this  light  within  a 
manifestation  or  appearance  of  Grod,  that  sheweth  in 
and  to  man,  all  that  may  be  known  of  God.  A  pas- 
sage much  like  unto  this,  is  that  of  the  Prophet  Micah, 
chap.  vi.  8.  God  hath  shewed  thee,  0  man,  what  is 
good  ;  and  what  doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee,  but  to 
do  justly,  and  to  love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly 
with  thy  God  ?  God  hath  shewed  thee,  0  man  !  It 
is  very  emphatical.  But  how  hath  He  shewed  him  ? 
Why  by  his  light  in  the  conscience,  which  the  ivicked 
rebel  against,  Job  xxiv.  13.  Who,  for  that  cause, 
know  not  the  ways  thereof,  nor  abide  in  the  paths 
thereof:  For  its  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness,  and 
all  its  paths  are  peace,  to  them  that  obey  it. 

§  3.  But  the  light  giveth  the  light  of  life,  which  is 
eternal  life  to  them  that  receive  and  obey  it.  Thus, 
says  the  blessed  Saviour  of  the  world,  John  viii.  12. 
I  am  the  light  of  the  world,  he  that  followeth  me  shall 
not  abide  in  darkness,  but  shall  have  the  light  of  life. 
Now  he  is  the  light  of  the  world,  because  he  lighteth 
every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world,  and  they  that 
obey  that  light  obey  him,  and  therefore  have  the  light 
of  life.  That  is,  the  light  becomes  eternal  life  to  the 
soul :  that  as  it  is  the  life  of  the  word,  which  is  the 
light  in  man,  so  it  becomes  the  life  in  man,  through 
his  obedience  to  it,  as  his  heavenly  light. 

§  4.  Furthermore,  this  light  was  the  very  ground 
of  the  apostolic  message,  as  the  beloved  disciple  as- 
sures us,  1  John  i.  5,  6,  7.  This  then  is  the  message 
which  we  have  heard  of  him,  and  declare  unto  you, 

8 


26  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

that  G-od  is  light,  and  in  him  is  no  darkness  at  all. 
If  ive  say  that  ive  have  felloiuship  ivith  him,  and  walk 
in  darkness,  we  lie,  and  do  not  the  truth :  but  if  we 
walk  in  the  light,  as  he  is  in  the  light,  ive  have  fellow- 
ship one  with  another*  and  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
his  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin.  Which  is  so  com- 
prehensive of  the  virtue  and  excellency  of  the  light, 
in  reference  to  man,  that  there  is  little  need  that 
more  should  be  said  upon  it ;  forasmuch  as,  first,  it 
reveals  God,  and  that  God  himself  is  light.  Secondly, 
it  discovers  darkness  from  light,  and  that  there  is  no 
fellowship  between  them.  Thirdly,  that  man  ought  to 
walk  in  the  light.  Fourthly,  that  it  is  the  way  to  obtain 
forgiveness  of  sin  and  sanctification  from  it.  Fifthly, 
that  it  is  the  means  to  have  peace  and  fellowship  with 
God  and  his  people ;  his  true  church,  redeemed  from 
the  pollutions  of  the  world. 

§  5.  Some,  perhaps,  may  object,  as  indeed  it  hath 
been  more  than  once  objected  upon  us,  That  this  is 
another  light,  not  that  light  wherewith  every  man  is 
enlightened.  But  the  same  apostle,  in  his  evangelical 
history,  tells  us,  that  in  the  word  ivas  life,  and  the 
life  was  the  light  of  men,  and  that  that  very  light,  zvas 
the  life  of  the  icord,  was  the  true  light  which  lighteth 
every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world,  John  i.  4,  9. 
In  him  was  life;  and  the  life  was  the  light  of  men. 
That  was  the  true  light,  which  lighteth  every  man 
that  cometh  into  the  world.  Where  is  there  so  plain 
a  text  to  be  found  against  the  sufficiency,  as  well 
as  universality  of  the  light  within ;  or  a  plainer  for 
any  article  of  faith  in  the  whole  book  of  God  ?  Had 
the  beloved  disciple  intended  tivo  lights,  in  his  evan- 
gelical history,  and  his  epistles,  to-be-sure  he  would 
have  noted  to  us  his  distinction :  but  we  read  of  none, 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  27 

and  by  the  properties  ascribed  in  each  writing,  we 
have  reason  to  conclude  he  meant  the  same. 

§  6.  But  if  any  shall  yet  object,  That  this  is  to  be 
understood  a  spiritual  light,  and  that  ours  is  to  be  a 
natural  one,  I  shall  desire  them  to  do  two  things : 
First,  to  prove  that  a  natural  light,  as  they  phrase 
it,  doth  manifest  God,  other  than  as  I  have  before  ex- 
plained and  allowed ;  since  whatever  is  part  of  man,  in 
his  constitution,  but  especially  in  his  degeneracy  from 
God,  is  so  far  from  yielding  him  the  knowledge  of 
God,  that  it  cannot  rightly  reprove  or  discover  that 
which  offends  him,  without  the  light  we  speak  of:  and 
it  is  granted,  that  what  we  call  divine,  and  some,  mis- 
takingly,  call  natural  light,  can  do  both.  Secondly, 
if  this  light  be  natural,  notwithstanding  it  doth  ma- 
nifest our  duty,  and  reprove  our  disobedience  to  God, 
they  would  do  well  to  assign  us  some  certain  medium, 
or  way,  whereby  we  may  truly  discern  and  distinguish 
between  the  manifestations  and  reproofs  of  the  natu- 
ral light  within,  from  those  of  the  divine  light  within, 
since  they  allow  the  manifestation  of  God,  and  reproof 
of  evil,  as  well  to  the  one,  as  to  the  other.  Let  them 
give  us  but  one  Scripture  that  distinguishes  between 
a  natural  and  a  spiritual  light  within.  They  may, 
with  as  much  reason,  talk  of  a  natural  and  spiritual 
darkness  within.  It  is  true,  there  is  a  natural  pro- 
per darkness,  to  wit,  the  night  of  the  outward  world ; 
and  there  is  a  spiritual  darkness,  viz.  the  clouded 
and  benighted  understandings  of  men,  through  dis- 
obedience to  the  light  and  spirit  of  God :  but  let 
them  assign  us  a  third,  if  they  can.  People  use,  in- 
deed, to  say,  improperly,  of  blind  men,  they  are  dark, 
we  may  call  a  natural  or  idiot  so,  if  we  will ;  but 
where  is  there  another  darkness  of  the  understanding, 


28  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

in  the  things  of  God  ?  If  they  can,  I  say,  find  that, 
in  and  about  the  things  of  God,  they  do  something. 

Christ  distinguished  not  between  darkness  and 
darkness,  or  light  and  light,  in  any  such  sense ;  nor  did 
any  of  his  disciples  :  yet  both  have  frequently  spoken 
of  darkness  and  light.  "What  difference,  pray,  doth 
the  Scriptures  put  between  spiritual  darkness  and 
darkness  mentioned  in  these  places, 

Luke  i.  79.  To  give  light  to  them  that  sit  in  dark- 
ness  and  in  the  shadow  of  death,  to  guide  our  feet  into 
the  way  of  peace. 

Mat.  iv.  1G.  The  people  which  sat  in  darkness,  saw 
great  light ;  and  to  them  which  sat  in  the  region  and 
shadow  of  death,  light  is  sprung  up. 

John  i.  5.  And  the  light  shineth  in  darkness ;  and 
the  darkness  comprehended  it  not. 

John  iii.  19.  And  this  is  the  condemnation,  that 
light  is  come  into  the  world,  and  men  loved  darkness 
rather  than  light,  because  their  deeds  were  evil. 

John  viii.  12,  31,  46.  Then  spake  Jesus  again  unto 
them,  saying,  I  am  the  light  of  the  world :  he  that 
followeth  me  shall  not  walk  in  darkness,  but  shall 
have  the  light  of  life.  Then  said  Jesus  to  those  Jews 
which  believed  on  him,  If  ye  continue  in  my  word, 
then  are  ye  my  disciples  indeed ;  which  of  you  con- 
vinceth  me  of  sin  ?  And  if  I  say  the  truth,  why  do 
ye  not  believe  on  me  ? 

1  Thes.  v.  4.  But  ye,  brethren,  are  not  in  dark- 
ness, that  that  day  should  overtake  you  as  a  thief. 

1  John  i.  6.  If  we  say  that  we  have  fellowship 
with  him,  and  walk  in  darkness,  we  lie,  and  do  not 
the  truth. 

Acts  xxvi.  18.  To  open  their  eyes,  and  to  turn 
them  from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power  of 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  29 

Satan  unto  God,  that  they  may  receive  forgiveness 
of  sins,  and  inheritance  among  them  which  are  sanc- 
tified by  faith'  that  is  in  me. 

Rom.  xiii.  12.  The  night  is  far  spent,  the  day  is 
at  hand  :  let  us,  therefore,  cast  off  the  works  of  dark- 
ness, and  let  us  put  on  the  armour  of  light. 

2  Cor.  vi.  14.  Be  ye  not  unequally  yoked  together 
with  unbelievers ;  for  what  fellowship  hath  righteous- 
ness with  unrighteousness  ?  and  what  communion  hath 
light  with  darkness  ? 

Eph.  v.  8.  For  ye  were  sometimes  darkness,  but 
now  are  ye  light  in  the  Lord :  walk  as  children  of  the 
light : 

Col.  i.  13.  Who  hath  delivered  us  from  the  power 
of  darkness,  and  hath  translated  us  into  the  kingdom 
of  his  dear  Son ; 

Upon  the  strictest  comparison  of  them  I  find  none. 
It  is  all  one  spiritual  darkness.  Neither  is  there  so 
much  as  one  Scripture  that  affords  us  a  distinction 
between  light  ivitlrin  and  light  within;  or  that  there 
are  really  two  lights  from  God,  in  man,  that  regard 
religion.  Peruse  Mat.  iv.  16.  The  people  which  sat 
in  darkness,  saw  great  light ;  and  to  them  which  sat 
in  the  region  and  shadow  of  death,  light  is  sprung  up. 

Luke  ii.  32.  A  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles,  and 
the  glory  of  thy  people  Israel. 

Luke  xv.  8.  Either  what  woman,  having  ten  pieces 
of  silver,  if  she  lose  one  piece,  doth  not  light  a  can- 
die,  and  sweep  the  house,  and  seek  diligently,  till  she 
find  it  ? 

John  i.  4,  5,  7,  8,  9.  In  him  was  life ;  and  the  life 
was  the  light  of  men.  And  the  light  shineth  in  darkv 
ness  ;  and  the  darkness  comprehended  it  not.  There 
was  a  man  sent  from  God,  whose  name  was  John, 


30  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY   REVIVED. 

The  same  came  for  a  witness,  to  bear  witness  of  the 
light,  that  all  men  through  him  might  believe.  He 
was  not  that  light,  but  was  sent  to  bear  witness  of 
that  light.  That  was  the  true  light,  which  lighteth 
every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world. 

Chap.  iii.  19,  20,  21.  And  this  is  the  condemna- 
tion, that  light  is  come  into  the  world,  and  men  loved 
darkness  rather  than  light,  because  their  deeds  were 
evil.  For  every  one  that  doeth  evil,  hateth  the  light, 
neither  cometh  to  the  light,  lest  his  deeds  should 
be  reproved.  But  he  that  doeth  truth,  cometh  to  the 
light,  that  his  deeds  may  be  made  manifest  that  they 
are  wrought  in  God. 

Chap.  viii.  12.  Then  spake  Jesus  again  unto  them, 
saying,  I  am  the  light  of  the  world ;  he  that  follow- 
eth  me  shall  not  walk  in  darkness,  but  shall  have  the 
light  of  life. 

Acts  xxvi.  18.  To  open  their  eyes,  and  to  turn 
them  from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power  of 
Satan  unto  God,  that  they  may  receive  forgiveness 
of  sins,  and  inheritance  among  them  which  are  sanc- 
tified by  faith  that  is  in  me. 

Rom.  xiii.  12.  The  night  is  far  spent,  the  day  is  at 
hand :  let  us,  therefore,  cast  off  the  works  of  dark- 
ness, and  let  us  put  on  the  armour  of  light. 

2  Cor.  iv.  6.  For  God,  who  commanded  the  light 
to  shine  out  of  darkness,  hath  shined  in  our  hearts,  to 
give  the  light  of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God 
in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Chap.  vi.  14.  Be  ye  not  unequally  yoked  together 
with  unbelievers ;  for  what  fellowship  hath  righteous- 
ness with  unrighteousness  ?  and  what  communion  hath 
light  with  darkness  ? 

Eph.  v.  8,  13.   For  ye  were  sometimes  darkness,  but 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  31 

now  are  ye  light  in  the  Lord:  walk  as  children  of 
light.  But  all  things  that  are  reproved,  are  made 
manifest  by  the  light;  for  whatsoever  doth  make 
manifest,  is  light. 

Col.  i.  12.  Giving  thanks  unto  the  Father,  which 
hath  made  us  meet  to  be  partakers  of  the  inheritance 
of  the  saints  in  light ; 

1  Thes.  v.  5.  Ye  are  all  the  children  of  light,  and 
the  children  of  the  day :  we  are  not  of  the  night  nor 
of  darkness. 

1  Tim.  vi.  16.  Who  only  hath  immortality,  dwell- 
ing in  the  light  which  no  man  can  approach  unto ; 
whom  no  man  hath  seen,  nor  can  see :  to  whom  be 
honour  and  power  everlasting.     Amen. 

1  Pet.  ii.  9.  But  ye  are  a  chosen  generation,  a 
royal  priesthood,  an  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people ; 
that  ye  should  show  forth  the  praises  of  him  who  hath 
called  you  out  of  darkness  into  his  marvellous  light. 

1  John  i.  5,  7.  This  then  is  the  message  which 
we  have  heard  of  him,  and  declare  unto  you,  that 
God  is  light,  and  in  him  is  no  darkness  at  all.  But 
if  we  walk  in  the  light,  as  he  is  in  the  light,  we  have 
fellowship  one  with  another ;  and  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  his  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin. 

Chap.  ii.  8.  Again,  a  new  commandment  I  write 
unto  you,  which  thing  is  true  in  him,  and  in  you ;  be- 
cause the  darkness  is  past,  and  the  true  light  now 
shineth. 

Rev.  xxi.  23,  24.  And  the  city  had  no  need  of  the 
sun,  neither  of  the  moon,  to  shine  in  it :  for  the  glory 
of  God  did  lighten  it,  and  the  Lamb  is  the  light 
thereof.  And  the  nations  of  them  which  are  saved, 
shall  walk  in  the  light  of  it ;  and  the  kings  of  the 
earth  do  bring  their  glory  and  honour  into  it. 


61  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

Chap.  xxii.  5.  And  there  shall  be  no  night  there : 
and  they  need  no  candle,  neither  light  of  the  sun  ; 
for  the  Lord  God  giveth  them  light ;  and  they  shall 
reign  forever  and  ever. 

And  we  believe  the  greatest  opposer,  to  our  asser- 
tion, will  not  be  able  to  sever  light  from  light,  or  find 
out  tivo  lights  within,  in  the  passages  here  mentioned, 
or  any  other,  to  direct  man  in  his  duty  to  God  and 
his  neighbour :  and  if  he  cannot,  pray  let  him  for- 
bear his  mean  thoughts  and  words  of  the  light  of 
Christ  within  mail,  as  man's  guide  in  duty  to  God 
and  man.  For  as  he  must  yield  to  us,  that  the  light 
manifesteth  evil,  and  reproveth  for  it,  so  doth  Christ 
himself  teach  us  of  the  light,  John  iii.  20.  For  every 
one  that  doth  evil  hateth  the  light,  neither  cometh 
unto  the  light,  lest  his  deeds  should  be  reproved. 
And  the  Apostle  Paul  plainly  saith,  Eph.  v.  13.  But 
all  things  that  are  reproved  are  made  manifest  by  the 
light ;  therefore  there  are  not  two  distinct  lights 
within,  but  one  and  the  same  manifesting,  reproving, 
and  teaching  light  within.  And  this  the  Apostle 
John,  in  his  first  epistle,  makes  plain,  beyond  all  ex- 
ception, to  all  considerate  people :  First,  in  that  he 
calls  God,  light,  chap.  i.  5 :  This  then  is  the  message 
which  we  have  heard  of  him,  and  declare  unto  you, 
that  God  is  light,  and  in  him  is  no  darkness  at  all. 
Secondly,  in  that  he  puts  no  medium  or  third  thing 
between  that  light,  and  darkness,  verse  6.  If  ive  say 
ive  have  fellowship  ivith  him,  and  ivalk  in  darkness, 
we  lie,  &c.  Intimating,  that  men  must  walk  either  in 
light  or  darkness,  and  not  in  a  third,  or  other  state  or 
region.  I  am  sure,  that  which  manifests  and  reproves 
darkness,  cannot  be  darkness.  This  all  men  must 
confess. 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  66 

§  7.  And,  as  if  the  Apostle  John  would  have  an- 
ticipated their  objection,  viz.  '  Tis  true,  your  light 
within  reproves  for  evil,  but  it  is  not  therefore  the 
Divine  Light  ivhich  leads  into  higher  things,  and 
which  comes  by  the  gospel;  he  thus  expresseth  him- 
self, 1  John  ii.  8,  9 :  The  darkness  is  past,  and  the 
true  Light  noiv  shineth.  He  that  saith  he  is  in  the 
light,  and  hateth  his  brother,  is  in  darkness  even 
until  now  ;  which  is  not  another  light  than  that  men- 
tioned before,  chap.  i.  For  as  light  is  put  there,  in 
opposition  to  darkness,  so  light  here,  is  put  in  oppo- 
sition to  darkness.  And  as  the  darkness  is  the 
same,  so  must  the  light  be  the  same.  Wherefore  we 
may  plainly  see,  that  it  is  not  another  light,  than 
that  which  reproves  a  man  for  hating  his  brother, 
which  brings  a  man  into  fellowship  tvith  God,  and  to 
the  blood  of  cleansing,  as  the  next  verse  speaks: 
therefore  that  Light  which  reproveth  a  man  for  hating 
his  brother,  is  of  a  divine  and  efficacious  nature.  In 
short,  that  light  which  is  opposite  to,  and  reproves 
spiritual  darkness,  in  a  man  and  woman,  is  a  spiritual 
Light;  but  such  a  Light  is  that  which  we  confess, 
testify  to,  and  maintain :  therefore  it  is  a  spiritual 
Light.  It  is  also  worth  our  notice,  that  the  apostle 
useth  the  same  manner  of  expression  here,  chap.  ii.  8, 
The  true  Light  shineth,  that  he  doth  in  his  Evange- 
lical History,  chap.  i.  9:  That  was  the  true  Ligld ; 
intimating  the  same  divine  Word,  or  true  Light  noiv 
shineth ;  and  that  it  is  the  same  true  Light  in  his  ac- 
count, that  reproveth  such  as  hate  their  brethren: 
consequently,  that  Light  that  so  reproveth  them  is 
the  true  Light.  And  strange  it  is,  that  Christ  and 
his  disciples,  but  especially  his  beloved  one,  should 
so  often  make  that  very  light,  which  stoops  to  the 


3-i  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

lowest  step  of  immorality,  and  to  the  reproof  of  the 
grossest  evil,  to  be  no  other  than  the  same  divine 
light,  in  a  farther  degree  of  manifestation,  which 
brings  such  as  follow  it  to  the  Light  of  Life,  to  tho 
blood  of  cleansing,  and  to  have  fellowship  with  God, 
and  one  with  another:  Nay,  not  only  so,  but  the 
apostle  makes  a  man's  being  a  child  of  Gfod,  to  de- 
pend upon  his  answering  of  this  light  in  a  palpable 
and  common  case,  viz.  Not  hating  of  his  brother: 
and  that  yet  any  should  shut  their  eyes  so  fast  against 
beholding  the  virtue  of  it,  as  to  conclude  it  a  natural 
and  insufficient  light,  is  both  unscriptural  and  un- 
reasonable. Shall  wTe  slight  it,  because  we  come  so 
easily  by  it,  and  it  is  so  familiar  and  domestic  to  us  ? 
Or  make  its  being  so  common  an  argument  to  under- 
value so  inestimable  a  mercy?  What  is  more  common 
than  light,  and  air,  and  water?  And  should  we 
therefore  contemn  them,  or  prize  them  ?  Prize  them, 
certainly,  as  what  wTe  cannot  live,  nor  live  comfortably 
without.  The  more  general  the  mercy  is,  the  greater, 
and  therefore  the  greater  obligation  upon  man  to  live 
humbly  and  thankfully  for  it.  And  to  those  alone 
that  do  so,  are  its  divine  secrets  revealed. 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY   REVIVED.  35 


CHAPTER  V. 

§  1.  The  Light  the  same  with  the  Spirit.  It  is  of  God;  proved  by  its 
properties.  §  2.  The  properties  of  the  Spirit  compared  with  those 
of  the  Light.  $  3.  The  Light  and  Grace  flow  from  the  same  prin- 
ciple, proved  by  their  agreeing  properties.  \  4.  An  objection  an- 
swered. §  5.  Difference  in  manifestation,  or  operation,  especially 
in  Gospel  times,  but  not  in  principle,  illustrated. 

§  1.  But  some  may  say,  We  could  willingly  allow 
to  the  Spirit  and  grace  of  God,  which  seemed  to  be 
the  peculiar  blessing  of  the  new  and  second  cove- 
nant, and  the  fruit  of  the  coming  of  Christ,  all  that 
which  you  ascribe  to  the  light  within ;  but  except  it 
appeared  to  us  that  this  light  ivere  the  same  in  nature 
ivith  the  Spirit  and  grace  of  God,  tve  cannot  easily 
bring  ourselves  to  believe  what  you  say  in  favour  of 
the  light  ivithin. 

Answ.  This  objection,  at  first  look,  seems  to  carry 
weight  with  it :  but  upon  a  just  and  serious  review,  it 
will  appear  to  have  more  words  than  matter,  show 
than  substance :  yet  because  it  gives  occasion  to  solve 
scruples,  that  may  be  flung  in  the  way  of  the  simple, 
I  shall  attend  it  throughout.  I  say,  then,  if  it  ap- 
pear that  the  properties  ascribed  to  the  light  within 
are  the  same  with  those  that  are  given  to  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  grace  of  G-od-  and  that  those  several 
terms  or  epithets,  are  only  to  express  the  divers 
manifestations  or  operations  of  one  and  the  same 
principle,  then  it  will  not,  it  cannot  be  denied,  but 


86  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

this  light  within,  is  divine  and  efficacious,  as  we  have 
asserted  it.  Now,  that  it  is  of  the  same  nature  with 
the  Spirit  and  grace  of  God,  and  tends  to  the  same 
end,  which  is  to  bring  people  to  God,  let  the  pro- 
perties of  the  light  be  compared  with  those  of  the 
Spirit  and  grace  of  God.  I  say,  they  are  the  same, 
in  that,  First,  The  light  proceeds  from  the  One  Word, 
and  One  Life  of  that  One  Word,  which  was  with  God 
and  was  God.  John  i.  4 :  In  him  was  life ;  and  the 
life  was  the  light  of  men.  And  John  i.  9  :  That  was 
the  true  Light,  which  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh 
into  the  world.  Secondly,  It  is  universal,  it  lighteth 
every  man.  Thirdly,  It  giveth  the  knoivledge  of  God 
and  fellowship  with  him.  Rom.  i.  19 :  Because  that 
which  may  be  known  of  God  is  manifest  in  them ;  for 
God  hath  shewed  it  unto  them.  John  iii.  21 :  But  he 
that  doeth  truth  cometh  to  the  light,  that  his  deeds 
may  be  made  manifest,  that  they  are  wrought  in  God. 
1  John  i.  5,  6 :  This  then  is  the  message  which  we 
have  heard  of  him,  and  declare  unto  you,  that  God  is 
light,  and  in  him  is  no  darkness  at  all.  If  we  say  that 
we  have  fellowship  with  him,  and  walk  in  darkness, 
we  lie,  and  do  not  the  truth.  Fourthly,  It  manifesteth 
and  reproveth  evil,  John  iii.  20 :  For  every  one  that 
doeth  evil  hateth  the  light,  neither  cometh  to  the 
light,  lest  his  deeds  should  be  reproved.  Eph.  v.  13 : 
But  all  things  that  are  reproved  are  made  manifest 
by  the  light:  for  whatsoever  doth  make  manifest  is 
light.  Fifthly,  It  is  made  the  rule  and  guide  of 
Christian  walking,  Psalm  xliii.  3 :  0  send  out  thy 
light  and  thy  truth :  let  them  lead  me ;  let  them  bring 
me  unto  thy  holy  hill,  and  to  thy  tabernacles.  John 
viii.  12 :  Then  spake  Jesus  again  unto  them,  saying, 
I  am  the   light  of  the  world :  he  that  followeth  me 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  37 

shall  not  walk  in  darkness,  but  shall  have  the  light 
of  life.  Eph.  v.  13,  14 :  But  all  things  that  are  re- 
proved are  made  manifest  by  the  light :  for  whatso- 
ever doth  make  manifest  is  light.  Wherefore  he 
saith,  Awake  thou  that  sleepest,  and  arise  from  the 
dead,  and  Christ  shall  give  thee  light.  See  then  that 
ye  walk  circumspectly,  not  as  fools,  but  as  wise. 
Sixthly,  It  is  the  path  for  God's  people  to  go  in, 
Psalm  cxix.  105  :  Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my  feet, 
and  a  light  unto  my  path.  Prov.  iv.  18  :  But  the  path 
of  the  just  is  as  the  shining  light,  that  shineth  more 
and  more  unto  the  perfect  day.  Isa.  ii.  5 :  0  house 
of  Jacob,  come  ye,  and  let  us  walk  in  the  light  of  the 
Lord.  1  John  i.  7  :  But  if  we  walk  in  the  light,  as 
he  is  in  the  light,  we  have  fellowship  one  with  an- 
other, and  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son  cleanseth 
us  from  all  sin.  Rev.  xxi.  21 :  And  the  nations  of 
them  which  are  saved,  shall  walk  in  the  light  of  it: 
and  the  kings  of  the  earth  do  bring  their  glory  and 
honour  into  it.  And  the  nations  of  them  that  are 
saved,  shall  walk  in  the  light  (of  the  Lamb.) 
Lastly,  It  is  the  armour  of  the  children  of  God 
against  Satan,  Psalm  xxvii.  1 :  The  Lord  is  my  light 
and  my  salvation  ;  whom  shall  I  fear  ?  The  Lord  is 
the  strength  of  my  life ;  of  whom  shall  I  be  afraid  ? 
Rom.  xiii.  12 :  The  night  is  far  spent,  the  day  is  at 
hand :  let  us  therefore  cast  off  the  works  of  dark- 
ness, and  let  us  put  on  the  armour  of  light. 

§  2.  Now  let  all  this  be  compared  with  Xhe  properties 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  their  agreement  will  be  very 
manifest.  First,  It  proceedeth  from  God,  because  it 
is  the  Spirit  of  God,  Rom.  vi.  11 :  Likewise  reckon 
ye  also  yourselves  to  be  dead  indeed  unto  sin,  but 
alive  unto  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.     Se- 

9 


OS  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

condly,  It  is  universal.  It  strove  with  the  old  world, 
Gen.  vi.  3 :  And  the  Lord  said,  My  Spirit  shall  not 
always  strive  with  man,  for  that  he  also  is  flesh:  yet 
his  days  shall  be  an  hundred  and  twenty  years.  Then 
to  be  sure  with  the  new  One:  Every  one  hath  a 
measure  of  it  given  to  profit  withal,  1  Cor.  xii.  7. 
Thirdly,  It  revealeth  God,  Job  xxxii.  8 :  But  there  is 
a  spirit  in  man:  and  the  inspiration  of  the  Almighty 
giveth  them  understanding.  1  Cor.  ii.  10,  11 :  But 
God  hath  revealed  them  unto  us  by  his  Spirit:  For 
the  Spirit  searcheth  all  things,  yea,  the  deep  things 
of  God.  For  what  man  knoweth  the  things  of  a  man, 
save  the  spirit  of  man  which  is  in  him?  even  so  the 
things  of  God  knoweth  no  man,  but  the  Spirit  of  God. 
Fourthly,  It  reproveth  sin,  John  xvi.  8 :  And  when 
he  is  come,  he  will  reprove  the  world  of  sin,  and  of 
righteousness,  and  of  judgment.  Fifthly,  It  is  a  rule 
and  a  guide  for  the  children  of  God  to  walk  by,  Rom. 
viii.  14 :  For  as  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 
they  are  the  sons  of  God.  Sixthly,  It  is  also  the 
path  they  are  to  walk  in,  Bom.  viii.  1 :  There  is  there- 
fore now  no  condemnation  to  them  which  are  in  Christ 
Jesus,  who  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the 
Spirit.  Gal.  v.  16  :  This  I  say  then,  walk  in  the  Spirit, 
and  ye  shall  not  fulfil  the  lusts  of  the  flesh.  Walk  in 
the  Spirit.  Lastly,  This  is  not  all;  it  is  likewise  the 
spiritual  iveapon  of  a  true  Christian.  Eph.  vi.  17  : 
Take  the  helmet  of  salvation,  and  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit,  which  is  the  word  of  God.  After  this,  I  hope 
none  will  deny  that  this  Light  and  this  Spirit  must  be 
of  one  and  the  same  nature,  that  work  one  and  the 
same  effect,  and  tend  evidently  to  one  and  the  same 
holy  end. 

§  3.  And  what  is  said  of  the  Light  and  Spirit,  may 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  39 

ulso,  very  well  be  said  of  the  Light  and  Grace  of  God : 
in  that,  First,  The  grace  floweth  from  Christ,  the 
Word,  that  took  flesh,  as  well  as  the  light;  for  as 
in  him  was  life,  and  that  life  the  light  of  men,  so 
he  was  full  of  grace  and  truth,  and  of  his  fulness 
have  all  we  received,  and  grace  for  grace,  John  i.  4, 
9,  14,  16 :  In  him  was  life ;  and  the  life  was  the  light 
of  men.  That  was  the  true  Light,  which  lighteth 
every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world.  And  the 
Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us,  (and  we 
beheld  his  glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten 
of  the  Father,)  full  of  grace  and  truth.  And  of  his 
fulness  have  all  we  received,  and  grace  for  grace. 

Secondly,  It  is  universal;  both  from  this  text,  and 
what  the  apostle  to  Titus  teacheth:  For  the  grace 
of  God  that  bringeth  salvation,  hath  appeared  to  all 
men,  Teaching  us,  that,  denying  ungodliness  and 
worldly  lusts,  we  should  live  soberly,  righteously,  and 
godly,  in  this  present  world,  Titus  ii.  11, 12.  Thirdly, 
It  manifesteth  evil,  for  if  it  teaches  to  deny  ungodli- 
ness and  worldly  lusts,  it  must  needs  detect  them,  and 
so  says  the  text.  Fourthly,  It  revealeth  godliness, 
and  consequently  it  must  manifest  Crocl.  Fifthly,  it 
is  an  instructor  and  Guide;  for,  says  the  apostle, 
It  teaches  to  deny  ungodliness  and  tvorldly  lusts,  and 
to  live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly  in  this  present 
world,  and  herein  a  rule  of  life,  Tit.  ii.  11,  12. 
Sixthly,  It  is  to  all  that  receive  it,  all  that  they  can 
need  or  desire.  2  Cor.  xii.  9 :  And  he  said  unto  me, 
My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee :  for  my  strength  is 
made  perfect  in  weakness.  Most  gladly  therefore  will 
I  rather  glory  in  my  infirmities,  that  the  power  of 
Christ  may  rest  upon  me.     An  high  testimony  from 


40  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

Heaven,  to  the   power  of   this  teaching  and  saving 
grace,  under  the  strongest  temptations. 

§  4.  Obj.  But  there  is  a  little  mention  made  of  the 
Spirit,  and  none  of  the  Grace,  before  Christ's  coming, 
and  therefore  the  Spirit,  as  spoken  of  in  the  writings 
of  the  New  Testament,  and  especially  the  Grace,  must 
be  another,  and  a  nobler  thing  than  the  light  within. 
Answ.  By  no  means  another  thing,  but  another 
name,  from  another  manifestation  or  operation,  of 
the  same  principle.  It  is  called  light  from  the  dis- 
tinction and  discerning  it  gives.  Let  there  be  light, 
and  there  was  light,  said  God  in  the  beginning  of  the 
world ;  so  there  is  first  Light  in  the  beginning  of  the 
new  creation  of  God  in  man.  It  is  called  Spirit,  be- 
cause it  giveth  life,  sense,  motion  and  vigour:  and  it 
is  as  often  mentioned  in  the  writings  of  the  Old  as 
New  Testament;  which  every  reader  may  see,  if  he 
will  but  please  to  look  into  his  Scripture  Concordance. 
Thus  God's  Spirit  strove  with  the  old  world,  Gen. 
vi.  3  :  And  the  Lord  said,  My  Spirit  shall  not  always 
strive  with  man,  for  that  he  also  is  flesh :  yet  his  days 
shall  be  an  hundred  and  twenty  years.  And  with 
Israel  in  the  wilderness,  Neh.  ix.  30 :  Yet  many  years 
didst  thou  forbear  them,  and  testifiedst  against  them 
by  thy  Spirit  in  thy  prophets :  yet  would  they  not 
give  ear:  therefore  gavest  thou  them  into  the  hand 
of  the  people  of  the  lands.  And  David  asked,  in  the 
agony  of  his  soul,  Psalm  exxxix.  7,  Whither  shall 
I  go  from  thy  Spirit?  Or  whither  shall  I  flee  from 
thy  presence?  And  the  prophets  often  felt  it.  It  is 
styled  grace,  not  from  its  being  another  principle, 
but  because  it  was  a  fuller  dispensation  of  the  virtue 
and  power  of  the  same  divine  principle:  and  that 
being  purely  God's  favour  and  mercy,  and  not  man's 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  41 

merit,  is  aptly,  and  deservedly  called  the  grace,  fa- 
vour, or  good-will  of  God  to  undeserving  man.  The 
wind  does  not  always  blow  fresh,  nor  heaven  send 
down  its  rain  freely,  nor  the  sun  shine  forth  clearly; 
shall  we  therefore  say,  it  is  not  of  the  same  kind  of 
wind,  rain,  or  light,  when  it  blows,  rains,  or  shines 
but  a  little,  as  when  it  blows,  rains,  or  shines  much  ? 
It  is  certainly  the  same  in  nature  and  kind;  and  so 
is  this  blessed  principle,  under  all  its  several  dispen- 
sations, manifestations  and  operations,  for  the  benefit 
of  man's  soul,  ever  since  the  world  began. 

§  5.  But  this  is  most  freely,  humbly  and  thankfully 
acknowledged  by  us,  that  the  dispensation  of  the  Gos- 
pel was  the  clearest,  fullest,  and  noblest  of  all  other, 
both  with  regard  to  the  coming  of  Christ  in  the  flesh, 
and  being  our  one  holy  offering  to  God  for  sin, 
through  the  eternal  Spirit;  and  the  breaking  forth  of 
his  light,  the  effusion  of  his  Spirit,  and  appearance 
of  his  grace  in,  and  to  man,  in  a  more  excellent 
manner,  after  his  ascension.  For  though  it  was  not 
another  Light,  or  Spirit,  than  that  which  he  had  given 
to  man  in  former  ages,  yet  it  was  another  and  greater 
measure;  and  that  is  the  privilege  of  the  gospel 
above  former  dispensations.  What  before  shined  but 
dimly,  shines  since  with  great  glory.  2  Cor.  iii.  18  : 
But  we  all,  with  open  face  beholding  as  in  a  glass 
the  glory  of  the  Lord,  are  changed  into  the  same 
image  from  glory  to  glory,  even  as  by  the  Spirit  of 
the  Lord.  Then  it  appeared  but  darkly,  but  now  with 
open  face.  Types,  figures  and  shadows  vailed  its 
appearances  and  made  them  look  low  and  faint;  but 
in.  the  gospel  time,  the  vail  is  rent,  and  the  hidden 
glory  manifest.  John  i.  5, 17  :  And  the  Light  shineth 
in  darkness;  and  the  darkness  comprehended  it  not. 
9* 


42  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

For  the  law  was  given  by  Moses,  but  grace  and  truth 
came  by  Jesus  Christ."  It  was  under  the  law  but  as 
a  dew,  or  small  rain,  but  under  the  gospel,  it  may  be 
said  to  be  poured  out  upon  men ;  according  to  that 
gracious  and  notable  promise  of  God,  by  the  prophet 
Joel,  chap.  ii.  28:  "And  it  shall  come  to  pass  after- 
ward, that  I  will  pour  out  my  spirit  upon  all  flesh ; 
and  your  sons  and  your  daughters  shall  prophesy, 
your  old  men  shall  dream  dreams,  your  young  men 
shall  see  visions."  Thus  we  say  when  it  rains  plenti- 
fully, look  how  it  pours,  so  God  augments  his  light, 
grace,  and  Spirit  to  these  latter  days.  They  shall 
not  have  it  sparingly,  and  by  small  drops,  but  fully 
and  freely,  and  overflowing  too.  And  thus  Peter, 
that  deep  and  excellent  apostle,  applies  that  promise 
in  Joel,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  as  the  beginning  of 
the  accomplishment  of  it.  This  is  grace,  and  fa- 
vour, and  goodness  indeed.  And  therefore  well  may 
this  brighter  illumination,  and  greater  effusion  of 
the  Spirit,  be  called  grace •  for  as  the  coming  of  the 
Son  excelled  that  of  the  servant,  so  did  the  mani- 
festation of  the  light  and  Spirit  of  God,  since  the 
coming  of  Christ,  excel  that  of  the  foregoing  dispen- 
sations ;  yet  ever  sufficient  to  salvation,  to  all  those 
that  walked  in  it.  This  is  pur  sense  of  the  light, 
Spirit,  and  grace  of  God:  and  by  what  is  said,  it  is 
evident  they  are  one  and  the  same  principle,  and  that 
he  that  has  light,  need  not  want  the  Spirit  or  grace 
of  God,  if  he  will  but  receive  it,  in  the  love  of  it : 
for  the  very  principle,  that  is  light  to  show  him,  is 
also  spirit  to  quicken  him,  and  grace  to  teach,  help, 
and  comfort  him.  It  is  sufficient  in  all  circumstances 
of  life,  to  them  that  diligently  mind  and  obey  it. 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  43 


CHAPTER   VI. 

§  1.  An  Objection  answered:  All  are  not  Good,  though  all  are  lighted. 
\  2.  Another  Objection  answered,  That  Gospel  truths  were  known 
before  Christ's  Coming.  \  3.  Another:  The  Gentiles  had  the 
same  Light,  though  not  with  those  Advantages :  Proved  by 
Scripture. 

§  1.  But  some  may  yet  say,  If  it  be  as  you  declare, 
how  comes  it,  that  all  who  are  enlightened,  are  not  so 
good  as  they  should  be ;  or,  as  you  say,  this  ivould 
make  them? 

Answ.  Because  people  don't  receive  and  obey  it: 
all  men  have  reason,  but  all  men  are  not  reasonable. 
Is  it  the  fault  of  the  grain,  in  the  granary,  that  it 
yields  no  increase,  or  of  the  talent  in  the  napkin,  that 
it  is  not  improved  ?  It  is  plain  a  talent  was  given ;  and 
as  plain  that  it  was  improveable ;  both  because  the  like 
talents  were  actually  improved  by  others,  and,  that 
the  just  Judge  expected  his  talent  tvith  advantage ; 
which  else,  to  be  sure,  he  would  never  have  done. 
Now  when  our  objectors  will  tell  us,  whose  fault  it 
was  the  talent  was  not  improved,  we  shall  be  ready  to 
tell  them,  why  the  unprofitable  servant  ivas  not  so 
good  as  he  should  have  been.  The  blind  must  not 
blame  the  sun,  nor  sinners  tax  the  grace  of  insuffi- 
ciency. It  is  sin  that  darkens  the  eye,  and  hardens 
the  heart,  and  that  hinders  good  things  from  the  sons 
of  men.  If  toe  do  his  will,  we  shall  hnotv  of  his  divine 
doctrine,  so  Christ  tells  us.  Men  not  living  to  what 
they  know,  cannot  blame   God,  that  they  know  no 


44  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

more.  The  unfruitfulness  is  in  us,  not  in  the  talent. 
'Twere  well  indeed,  that  this  were  laid  to  heart.  But, 
alas  !  men  are  too  apt  to  follow  their  sensual  appe- 
tites, rather  than  their  reasonable  mind,  which  renders 
them  brutal  instead  of  rational.  For  the  reasonable 
part  in  man,  is  his  spiritual  part,  and  that  guided  by 
the  divine  Logos,  or  Word,  which  Tertullian  interprets 
reason  in  the  most  excellent  sense,  makes  man  truly 
reasonable ;  and  then  it  is  that  man  comes  to  offer  up 
himself  to  God  a  reasonable  sacrifice.  Then  a  man 
indeed;  a  complete  man;  such  a  man  as  God  made, 
when  he  made  man  in  his  oivn  image,  and  gave  him 
Paradise  for  his  habitation. 

§  2.  Obj.  But  some  yet  object,  If  mankind  had 
always  this  ^>finciple,  lioiv  comes  it  that  gospel-truths 
were  not  so  fully  known  before  the  coming  of  Christ, 
to  those  that  were  obedient  to  it. 

Answ.  Because  a  child  is  not  a  grown  man,  nor 
the  beginning  the  end ;  and  yet  he  that  is  the  be- 
ginning, is  also  the  end:  the  principle  is  the  same, 
though  not  the  manifestation.  As  the  world  has  many 
steps  and  periods  of  time  towards  its  end,  so  hath 
man  to  his  perfection.  They  that  are  faithful  to  what 
they  know  of  the  dispensation  of  their  own  day,  shall 
hear  the  happy  welcome,  of  Well  done,  good  and  faith- 
ful servant.  And  yet  many  of  God's  people  in  those 
days,  had  a  prospect  of  the  glory  of  the  latter  times, 
the  improvement  of  religion,  the  happiness  of  the 
church  of  God. 

This  we  see  in  \\\q  prophecy  of  Jacob  and  Moses,  con- 
cerning the  restoration  of  Israel  by  Christ.  Gen.  xlix. 
10 :  "  The  sceptre  shall  not  depart  from  Judah,  nor 
a  lawgiver  from  between  his  feet,  until  Shiloh  come ; 
and  unto  him  shall  the  gathering  of  the  people  be." 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  45 

Deut.  xviii.  15,  18.  "  The  Lord  thy  God  will  raise 
up  unto  thee  a  Prophet  from  the  midst  of  thee,  of  thy 
brethren,  like  unto  me ;  unto  him  ye  shall  hearken. 
I  will  raise  them  up  a  Prophet  from  among  their 
brethren,  like  unto  thee,  and  will  put  my  words  in  his 
mouth;  and  he  shall  speak  unto  them  all  that  I  shall 
command  him." 

So  David,  in  many  of  his  excellent  Psalms,  ex- 
pressing most  sensible  and  extraordinary  enjoyments, 
as  well  as  Prophecies;  particularly  his  2,  15,  18,  22, 
23,  25,  2T,  32,  36,  37,  42,  43,  45,  51,  84,  &c.  The 
Prophets  are  full  of  it,  and  for  that  reason  have  their 
name;  particularly  Isaiah,  chap.  2,  9, 11,  25,  28,  32, 
35,  42,  49,  50,  51,  52,  53,  54,  59,  60,  61,  63,  65,  66. 
Jeremiah  also,  chap.  23,  30,  31,  33.  Ezekiel,  chap. 
20,  34,  36,  3T.  Daniel,  chap.  8,  9,  10,  11,  12. 
Hosea,  chap.  1,  3.  Joel,  chap.  2,  3.  Amos,  chap.  9. 
Micah,  chap.  4,  5.  Zachariah,  chap.  6,  8,  9,  11,  13, 
14.  Malaehi,  chap.  3,  4.  This  was  not  another 
principle,  though  another  manifestation  of  the  same 
principle,  nor  was  it  common,  but  particular  and  ex- 
traordinary in  the  reason  of  it. 

It  was  the  same  Spirit  that  came  upon  3Ioses,  which 
came  upon  John  the  Baptist,  and  it  was  also  the  same 
Spirit  that  came  upon  Grideon  and  Samson,  that  fell 
upon  Peter  and  Paul;  but  it  was  not  the  same  dis- 
pensation of  that  Spirit.  It  hath  been  the  way  of 
God,  to  visit  and  appear  to  men,  according  to  their 
states  and  conditions,  and  as  they  have  been  prepared 
to  receive  him,  be  it  more  outwardly  or  inwardly, 
sensibly  or  spiritually.  There  is  no  capacity  too  low, 
or  too  high,  for  this  divine  principle :  for  as  it  made 
and  knows  all,  so  it  reaches  unto  all  people.  It  ex- 
tends to  the  meanest,  and  the  highest  cannot  subsist 


46  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

without  it.  Which  made  David  break  forth  in  his 
expostulations  with  God,  Psalm  cxxxix.  7,  8,  9,  10. 
"Whither  shall  I  go  from  thy  Spirit?  or  whither  shall 
I  flee  from  thy  presence  ?  If  I  ascend  up  into  hea- 
ven, thou  art  there  :  if  I  make  my  bed  in  hell,  behold, 
thou  art  there.  If  I  take  the  wings  of  the  morning, 
and  dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea ;  even 
there  shall  thy  hand  lead  me,  and  thy  right  hand  shall 
hold  me."  Implying  it  was  everywhere,  though  not 
everywhere,  not  at  every  time  alike.  If  I  go  to 
heaven,  to  hell,  or  beyond  the  seas,  even  there  shall 
thy  hand  lead  me,  and  thy  right  hand  shall  hold  me. 
That  is,  there  will  this  divine  Word,  this  Light  of 
men,  this  Spirit  of  God,  find  me,  lead  me,  help  me, 
and  comfort  me.  For  it  is  with  me  wherever  I  am, 
and  wherever  I  go,  in  one  respect  or  other ;  Prov. 
vi.  22  :  «  When  thou  goest,  it  shall  lead  thee ;  when 
thou  steepest,  it  shall  keep  thee;  and  when  thou 
aw  ah  est,  it  shall  talk  with  tltee :"  and  I  can  no  more 
get  rid  of  it,  if  I  would,  than  of  myself,  or  my  own 
nature  ;  so  present  is  it  with  me,  and  so  close  it  sticks 
unto  me.  Isa.  xliii.  2  :  "  When  thou  passest  through 
f/n'  /raters,  I ivill  be  with  thee;  and  through  the  rivers, 
they  shall  not  overfloiv  thee :  ivhen  thou  walkest  through 
the  fire,  thou  shalt  not  be  burnt;  neither  shall  the  flame 
kindle  upon  thee."  David  knew  it,  and  therefore  had  a 
great  value  for  it.  "In  thy  light  shall  toe  see  light," 
or  we  shall  be  enlightened  by  thy  light.  "Thou  wilt 
light  my  candle;  the  Lord  my  Grod  ivill  lighten  my 
darkness."  Again,  "The  Lord  is  my  Light,  ivhom 
shall  I  fear."  It  was  his  armour  against  all  danger. 
It  took  fear  away  from  him,  and  he  was  undaunted, 
because  he  was  safe  in  the  way  of  it.  Of  the  same 
blessed  word  he  says  elsewhere,  "It  is  a  lamp  unto 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  47 

my  feet,  and  a  lanthom  to  my  paths."  In  short,  a 
light  to  him  in  his  way  to  blessedness. 

§  3.  Obj.  But  if  the  Jews  had  this  light,  it  does 
not  folloiv  that  the  Gientiles  had  it  also ;  but  by  your 
doctrine  all  have  it. 

Answ.  Yes,  and  it  is  the  glory  of  this  doctrine 
which  we  profess,  that  God's  love  is  therein  held  forth 
to  all.  And  besides  the  texts  cited  in  general,  and 
that  are  as  full  and  positive  as  can  be  expressed,  the 
apostle  is  very  particular  in  the  second  chapter  of 
his  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  verse  7 :  "To  them  who,  by 
patient  continuance  in  well  doing,  seek  for  glory,  and 
honour,  and  immortality,  eternal  life :  8.  But  unto 
them  that  are  contentious,  and  do  not  obey  the  truth, 
but  obey  unrighteousness,  indignation  and  wrath: 
9.  Tribulation  and  anguish,  upon  every  soul  of  man 
that  doeth  evil ;  of  the  Jew  first,  and  also  of  the 
Gentile : 

10.  But  glory,  honour,  and  peace,  to  every  man  that 
worketh  good ;  to  the  Jew  first,  and  also  to  the  Gentile : 

11.  For  there  is  no  respect  of  persons  with  God. 

12.  For  as  many  as  have  sinned  without  law,  shall 
also  perish  without  law  ;  and  as  many  as  have  sinned 
in  the  law,  shall  be  judged  by  the  law; 

13.  (For  not  the  hearers  of  the  law  are  just  before 
God,  but  the  doers  of  the  law  shall  be  justified. 

14.  For  when  the  Gentiles,  which  have  not  the  law, 
do  by  nature  the  things  contained  in  the  law,  these, 
having  not  the  law,  are  a  law  unto  themselves : 

15.  Which  shew  the  work  of  the  law  written  in 
their  hearts,  their  conscience  also  bearing  witness, 
and  their  thoughts  the  meanwhile  accusing  or  else 
excusing  one  another ;) 

16.  In  the  day  when  God  shall  judge  the  secrets 


48  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

of  men  by  Jesus  Christ  according  to  my  gospel." 
That  is,  they  had  not  an  outward  law,  circumstanced 
as  the  Jeios  had ;  but  they  had  the  work  of  the  law 
written  in  their  hearts,  and  therefore  might  well  be 
a  law  to  themselves,  that  had  the  law  in  themselves. 
And  so  had  the  Jeios  too,  but  then  they  had  greater 
outward  helps  to  quicken  their  obedience  to  it ;  such 
as  God  afforded  not  unto  any  other  nation :  and  there- 
fore the  obedience  of  the  Grentiles,  or  uncircumcision, 
is  said  to  be  by  nature,  or  naturally,  because  it  wTas 
without  those  additional,  external,  and  extraordinary 
ministers  and  helps  which  the  Jews  had  to  provoke 
them  to  duty.  Which  is  so  far  from  lessening  the 
obedient  Grentiles,  that  it  exalts  them  in  the  apostle's 
judgment;  because  though  they  had  less  advantages 
than  the  Jews,  yet  the  work  of  the  law  ivritten  in 
their  hearts,  was  made  so  much  the  more  evident  by 
the  good  life  they  lived  in  the  world.  He  adds, 
"  their  consciences  bearing  witness  (or  as  it  may  be 
rendered,  witnessing  with  them)  and  their  thoughts, 
meanwhile,  accusing,  or  else  excusing  one  another, 
in  the  day  when  Gf-od  shall  judge  the  secrets  of  all 
hearts  by  Jesus  Christ,  according  to  my  gospel." 
Which  presents  us  with  four  things  to  our  point,  and 
worth  our  serious  reflection.  First,  That  the  Gentiles 
had  the  law  written  in  their  hearts.  Secondly,  That 
their  conscience  was  an  allowed  witness  or  evidence 
about  duty.  Thirdly,  That  the  judgment  made 
thereby  shall  be  confirmed  by  the  apostle's  gospel 
at  the  great  day,  and  therefore  valid  and  irreversible. 
Fourthly,  That  this  could  not  be,  if  the  light  of  this 
conscience  were  not  a  divine  and  sufficient  light: 
for  conscience  truly  speaking,  is  no  other  than  the 
sense  a  man  hath,  or  judgment  he  maketh  of  his  duty 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  49 

to  God,  according  to  the  understanding  God  gives 
him  of  his  will.  And  that  no  ill,  but  a  true  and 
scriptural  use  may  be  made  of  this  word  conscience, 
I  limit  it  to  duty,  and  to  a  virtuous  and  holy  life, 
as  the  apostle  evidently  doth,  about  which  we  cannot 
miss,  or  dispute;  read  verses  7,  8  and  9:  "To  them 
who  by  patient  continuance  in  well-doing  seek  for 
glory  and  honour  and  immortality,  eternal  life: 
but  unto  them  that  are  contentious,  and  do  not 
obey  the  truth,  but  obey  unrighteousness,  indignation 
and  wrath,  tribulation  and  anguish,  upon  every  soul 
of  man  that  doeth  evil ;  of  the  Jew  first,  and  also 
of  the  Gentile."  It  was  to  that  therefore  the  apostles 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  desired  to  be  made  manifest, 
for  they  dared  to  stand  the  judgment  of  conscience, 
in  reference  to  the  doctrine  they  preached  and  pressed 
upon  men.  The  beloved  disciple  also  makes  it  a  judge 
of  man's  present  and  future  state,  under  the  term 
heart.  1  John  iii.  20,  21 :  "For  if  our  heart  condemn 
us,  God  is  greater  than  our  heart,  and  knoweth  all 
things.  Beloved,  if  our  heart  condemn  us  not,  then 
have  we  confidence  toward  God."  Plain  and  strong 
words:  and  what  were  they  about,  but  whether  we 
love  God,  in  deed  and  in  truth:  and  how  must  that 
appear?  Why,  in  keeping  his  commandments,  which 
is  living  up  to  what  we  know.  And  if  any  desire  to 
satisfy  themselves  farther  of  the  divinity  of  the  Gen- 
tiles, let  them  read  Plato,  Seneca,  Plutarch,  Epictetus, 
Marcus  Aurelius  Antoninus,  and  the  Gentile  turiters. 
They  will  also  find  many  of  their  sayings,  collected 
in  the  first  part  of  a  book,  called  The  Christian  Quaker, 
and  compared  with  the  testimonies  of  Scriptures,  not 
for  their  authority,  but  agreeableness.  In  them  they 
may  discern  many  excellent  truths,  and  taste  great 

10 


50  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

love  and  devotion  to  virtue :  a  fruit  that  grows  upon 
no  tree,  but  that  of  life,  in  no  age  or  nation.  Some 
of  the  most  eminent  writers  of  the  first  ages,  such  as 
Justin  Martyr,  Origen,  Clemens  Alexandrinus,  &c, 
bore  them  great  respect,  and  thought  it  no  lessening 
to  the  reputation  of  Christianity,  that  it  was  defended 
in  many  Gentile  authors,  as  well  as  that  they  used 
and  urged  them,  to  engage  their  followers  to  the 
faith,  as  Paul  did  the  Athenians  with  their  own 
poets. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


\  1.  An  Objection  answered  about  the  various  Dispensations  of  God : 
The  Principle  the  same.  \  2.  God's  Work  of  a  piece,  and  Truth 
the  same  under  divers  Shapes.  $  3.  The  Reason  of  the  Preva- 
lency  of  Idolatry.  \  4.  The  Quaker's  Testimony  the  best  Anti- 
dote against  it,  viz.  Walking  by  a  divine  Principle  in  Man. 
§  5.  It  was  God's  End  in  all  his  Manifestations,  that  Man  might 
be  God's  Image  and  Delight. 

§  1.  Obj.  But  it  may  be  said,  If  it  were  one  prin- 
ciple, why  so  many  modes  and  shapes  of  religion,  since 
the  world  began  ?  For  the  patriarchal,  Mosaical,  and 
Christian,  have  their  great  differences ;  to  say  nothing 
of  what  has  befallen  the  Christian,  since  the  publica- 
tion of  it  to  the  world. 

Answ.  I  know  not  how  properly  they  may  be  called 
divers  religions,  that  assert  the  true  God  for  the 
object  of  worship;  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  for  the 
only  Saviour;  and  the  light,  or  Spirit  of  Christ,  for 
the  great  agent  and  means  of  mans  conversion,  and 
eternal  felicity,  any  more  than  infancy,  youth,  and 
manhood,  make  three  men,  instead  of  three  growths 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  51 

or  periods  of  time,  of  one  and  the  same  man.  But 
passing  that,  the  many  modes,  or  ways  of  God's  ap- 
pearing to  men,  arise,  as  hath  been  said,  from  the 
divers  states  of  men,  in  all  which,  it  seems  to  have 
been  his  main  design  to  prevent  idolatry  and  vice, 
by  directing  their  minds  to  the  true  object  of  wor- 
ship, and  pressing  virtue  and  holiness.  So  that  though 
mediately  he  spoke  to  the  patriarchs,  mostly  by 
angels,  in  the  fashion  of  men,  and  by  them  to  their 
families,  over  and  above  the  illumination  in  them- 
selves ;  so  to  the  prophets,  for  the  most  part,  by  the 
Revelation  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  them,  and  by  them 
to  the  Jews  ;  and  since  the  Gospel  Dispensation,  by 
his  Son,  both  externally,  by  his  coming  in  the  flesh, 
and  internally,  by  his  spiritual  appearance  in  the 
soul,  as  he  is  the  great  Light  of  the  ivorld;  yet 
all  its  Sowings  mediately  through  others,  have  still 
been  from  the  same  principle,  co-operating  with 
the  manifestation  of  it  immediately  in  man's  own 
particular. 

§  2.  This  is  of  great  weight,  for  our  information 
and  encouragement,  that  God's  work,  in  reference 
to  man,  is  all  of  a  piece,  and,  in  itself,  lies  in  a  nar- 
row compass,  and  that  his  eye  has  ever  been  upon  the 
same  thing  in  all  his  dispensations,  viz.  to  make  men 
truly  good,  by  planting  his  holy  awe,  and  fear  in 
their  hearts:  though  he  has  condescended,  for  the 
hardness  and  darkness  of  men's  hearts,  to  approach, 
and  spell  out  his  holy  mind,  to  them,  by  low  and  car- 
nal ways,  as  they  may  appear  to  our  more  enlightened 
understandings:  suffering  truth  to  put  on  divers  sorts 
of  garments,  the  better  to  reach  to  the  low  state  of 
men,  to  engage  them  from  false  gods,  and  ill  lives; 
seeing  them  sunk  so  much  below  their  nobler  part, 


52  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY   REVIVED. 

and  what  he  made  them,  that,  like  brute  beasts,  they 
knew  not  their  own  strength  and  excellency. 

§  3.  And  if  we  do  but  well  consider  the  reason  of 
the  prevalency  of  idolatry,  upon  the  earlier  and  darker 
times  of  the  world,  of  which  the  Scripture  is  very 
particular,  Gen.  xxxi.  xxxv. ;  Exod.  xx. ;  Levit.  xxi. ; 
Deut.  xxix.  xxx.  xxxi.  xxxii. ;  Josh.  xxii.  xxiii.  xxiv., 
we  shall  find  that  it  ariseth  from  this:  That  it  is  more 
sensual,  and  therefore  calculated  to  please  the  senses 
of  men;  being  more  outward  or  visible,  or  more  in 
their  own  power  to  perform,  than  one  more  spiritual 
in  its  object.  For  as  their  gods  were  the  workman- 
ship of  men's  hands,  they  could  not  prefer  them,  that 
being  the  argument  which  did  most  of  all  gall  their 
worshippers,  and  what  of  all  things,  for  that  reason, 
they  were  most  willing  to  forget.  But  their  incidency 
to  idolatry,  and  the  advantages  it  had  upon  the  true 
religion  with  them,  plainly  came  from  this,  That  it 
was  more  outward  and  sensual:  they  could  see  the 
object  of  their  devotion,  and  had  it  in  their  power  to 
address  it  when  they  would.  It  was  more  fashionable 
too,  as  well  as  better  accommodated  to  their  dark  and 
too  brutal  state.  And  therefore  it  was  that  God,  by 
many  afflictions,  and  greater  deliverances,  brought 
forth  a  people,  to  endear  himself  to  them,  that  they 
might  remember  the  hand  that  saved  them,  and  wor- 
ship him,  and  him  only;  in  order  to  root  up  idolatry, 
and  plant  the  knowledge  and  fear  of  him  in  their 
minds,  for  an  example  to  other  nations.  Whoever 
reads  Deuteronomy,  which  is  a  summary  of  the  other 
four  books  of  Moses,  will  find  the  frequent  and  earnest 
care  and  concern  of  that  good  man  for  Israel,  about 
this  very  point ;  and  how  often  that  people  slipt  and 
lapsed,  notwithstanding    God's    love,   care,   and  pa- 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY   REVIVED.  53 

tience  over  them,  into  the  idolatrous  customs  of  the 
nations  about  them.  Divers  other  Scriptures  inform 
us  also,  especially  those  of  the  prophets,  Isa.  xliv. 
xlv. ;  Psalms  xxxvii.  cxv. ;  and  Jer.  x.,  where  the  Holy 
Ghost  confutes  and  rebukes  the  people,  and  mocks 
their  idols  with  a  sort  of  holy  disdain. 

§  4.  Now  that  which  is  farthest  from  idolatry,  and 
the  best  antidote  against  it,  is  the  principle  we  have 
laid  down,  and  the  more  people's  minds  are  turned  and 
brought  to  it,  and  that  they  resolve  their  faith,  wor- 
ship, and  obedience  into  the  holy  illuminations  and 
power  of  it,  the  nearer  they  grow  to  the  end  of  their 
creation,  and  consequently  to  their  Creator.  They 
are  more  spiritually  qualified,  and  become  better  fitted 
to  worship  God  as  he  is :  who,  as  we  are  told,  by  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Is  a  Spirit,  and  will  be  worshipped 
in  spirit  and  in  truth,  and  that  they  are  such  sort  of 
worshippers  which  God  seeketh  to  worship  him,  in  this 
gospel-day.  "The  hour  cometh,"  saith  he,  "and  now 
is."  That  is,  some  now  do  so,  but  more  shall.  A  plain 
assertion  in  present,  and  a  promise  and  prophecy  of 
the  increase  of  such  worsphippers  in  future.  Which 
shews  a  change  intended  from  a  ceremonial  worship, 
and  state  of  the  church  of  God,  to  a  spiritual  one. 
Thus  the  text :  "  But  the  time  cometh,  and  noiv  is,  when 
true  worshippers  shall  ivorship  the  Father  in  spirit 
and  in  truth."  Which  is  as  much  as  to  say,  when  the 
worship  of  God  shall  be  more  inward  than  outward 
and  so  more  suitable  to  the  nature  of  God,  and  the 
nobler  part  of  man,  his  inside,  or  his  inward  and  better 
man :  for  so  those  blessed  words  import,  in  "  spirit  and 
in  truth."  In  spirit,  that  is,  through  the  poiver  of  the 
Spirit.  In  truth,  that  is,  in  realities,  not  in  sha- 
dows, ceremonies,  or  formalities,  but  in  sincerity, 
10* 


04  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY   REVIVED. 

with  and  in  Life,  being  divinely  prepared  and  ani- 
mated ;  which  brings  man  not  only  to  offer  up  right 
worship,  but  also  into  intimate  communion  and  fel- 
lowship with  God,  ivho  is  a  Spirit. 

§  5.  And  if  it  be  duly  weighed,  it  will  appear,  that 
God  in  all  his  manifestations  of  himself,  hath  still 
come  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  insides  of  men,  that 
he  might  reach  to  their  understandings,  and  open  their 
hearts  and  give  them  a  plainer  and  nearer  acquaint- 
ance with  himself  in  spirit :  and  then  it  is  that  man 
must  seek  and  find  the  knowledge  of  God  for  his 
eternal  happiness.  Indeed,  all  things  that  are  made 
shew  forth  the  power  and  wisdom  of  God,  and  his 
goodness  too,  to  mankind ;  and  therefore  many  men 
urge  the  Creation  to  silence  Atheistical  objections : 
but  tho'  all  those  things  shew  a  God,  yet  man  does 
it,  above  all  the  rest.  He  is  the  precious  stone  of  the 
ring,  and  the  most  glorious  jewel  of  the  globe;  to 
whose  reasonable  use,  service,  and  satisfaction,  the 
whole  seems  to  be  made  and  dedicated.  But  God's 
delight  (by  whom  man  was  made,  we  are  told  by  the 
Holy  Ghost)  is  in  the  habitable  paints  of  the  earth,  zvith 
the  so?is  of  men,  Prov.  viii.  31.  And  with  those  that  are 
contrite  in  spirit,  Isa.  lxvi.  1,  2 :  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord, 
The  heaven  is  my  throne,  and  the  earth  is  my  foot- 
stool :  where  is  the  house  that  ye  build  unto  me  ?  and 
where  is  the  place  of  my  rest  ?  For  all  those  things 
hath  mine  hand  made,  and  all  those  things  have  been, 
saith  the  Lord :  but  to  this  man  will  I  look,  even 
to  him  that  is  poor  and  of  a  contrite  spirit,  and 
trembleth  at  my  word."  And  why  is  man  his  delight, 
but  because  man  only,  of  all  his  works,  was  of  his 
likeness  ?  This  is  the  intimate  relation  of  man  to 
God  :  somewhat  nearer  than  ordinary  ;  for  of  all  other 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  55 

beings,  man  only  had  the  honour  of  being  his  image; 
and,  by  his  resemblance  to  God,  as  I  may  say,  came 
his  kindred  with  God  and  knowledge  of  him.  So  that 
the  nearest  and  best  way  for  man  to  know  God,  and 
be  acquainted  with  him,  is  to  seek  him  in  himself,  in 
his  image;  and,  as  he  finds  that,  he  comes  to  find  and 
know  God.  Now  man  may  be  said  to  be  God's  image 
in  a  double  respect.  First,  As  he  is  of  an  immortal 
nature  ;  and,  next,  as  that  nature  is  endued  with  those 
excellencies  in  small,  and  proportionable  to  a  creature's 
capacity,  that  are  by  nature  infinitely  and  incompa- 
rably in  his  Creator.  For  instance,  wisdom,  justice, 
mercy,  holiness,  patience,  and  the  like.  As  man 
becomes  holy,  just,  merciful,  patient,  &c.  By  the 
copy  he  will  know  the  original,  and  by  the  work- 
manship in  himself  he  will  be  acquainted  with  the 
holy  workman.  This,  reader,  is  the  Regeneration  and 
Neiv  Creaturewe  press,  (Gal.  vi.  15, 16 :  "For  in  Christ 
Jesus  neither  circumcision  availeth  any  thing,  nor  un- 
circumcision,  but  a  new  creature.  And  as  many  as 
walk  according  to  this  rule,  peace  be  on  them,  and 
mercy,  and  upon  the  Israel  of  God,")  and  according- 
to  this  rule,  we  say,  men  ought  to  be  religious,  and 
walk  in  this  ivorld.  Man,  as  I  said  just  now,  is  a 
composition  of  both  worlds ;  his  body  is  of  this,  his 
soul  of  the  other  world.  The  body  is  as  the  temple 
of  the  soul,  the  soul  the  temple  of  the  Word,  and 
the  Word  the  great  temple  and  manifestation  of  God. 
By  the  body  the  soul  looks  into  and  beholds  this 
world,  and  by  the  Word  it  beholds  God,  and  the 
world  that  is  without  end.  Much  might  be  said  of 
this  order  of  things,  and  their  respective  excellen- 
cies, but  I  must  be  brief. 


56  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

$  1.  The  doctrines  of  satisfaction  and  justification  owned  and 
worded  according  to  Scripture.  §  2.  What  constructions  we  can't 
believe  of  them,  and  which  is  an  abuse  of  them.  \  3.  Christ 
owned  a  Sacrifice  and  Mediator.  \  4.  Justification  twofold, 
from  the  guilt  of  sin,  and  from  the  power  and  pollution  of  it. 
\  5.  Exhortation  to  the  reader  upon  the  whole. 

§  1.  Though  there  be  many  good  things  said,  how 
Christ  appears  and  works  in  a  soul,  to  awaken,  con- 
vince and  convert  it;  yet  you  seem  not  particular 
enough  about  the  death  and  sufferings  of  Christ:  and 
it  is  generally  rumoured  and  charged  upon  you  by 
your  adversaries,  that  you  have  little  reverence  to  the 
doctrine  of  Christ's  satisfaction  to  God  for  our  sins,  and 
that  you  do  not  believe,  that  the  active  and  passive 
obedience  of  Christ,  when  he  was  in  the  world,  is  the 
alone  ground  of  a  sinner's  justification  before  God. 

Answ.  The  doctrines  of  satisfaction  and  justifica- 
tion, truly  understood,  are  placed  in  so  strict  an  union, 
that  the  one  is  a  necessary  consequence  of  the  other, 
and  what  we  say  of  them,  is  what  agrees  with  the 
suffrage  of  Scripture,  and  for  the  most  part  in  the 
terms  of  it ;  always  believing,  that  in  points  where 
there  arises  any  difficulty,  be  it  from  the  obscurity 
of  expression,  mis-translation,  or  the  dust  raised  by 
the  heats  of  partial  writers,  or  nice  critics,  it  is  ever 
best  to  keep  close  to  the  text,  and  maintain  charity  in 
the  rest.  I  shall  first  speak  negatively,  what  we  do  not 
own,  which  perhaps  hath  given  occasion  to  those  who 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY   REVIVED.  57 

have  been  more  hasty  than  wise,  to  judge  us  defective, 
in  our  belief  of  the  efficacy  of  the  death  and  suffer- 
ings of  Christ  to  justification  :  as 

§  2.  First,  we  cannot  believe  that  Christ  is  the 
cause,  but  the  effect  of  God's  love,  according  to  the 
testimony  of  the  beloved  disciple  John,  chap.  iii. :  Grod 
so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only -begotten  Son 
into  the  world,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should 
not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life. 

Secondly,  we  cannot  say,  God  could  not  have  taken 
another  way  to  have  saved  sinners,  than  by  the  death 
and  sufferings  of  his  Son,  to  satisfy  his  justice,  or  that 
Christ's  death  and  sufferings  were  a  strict  and  rigid 
satisfaction  for  that  eternal  death  and  misery  due  to 
man  for  sin  and  transgression  :  for  such  a  notion  were 
to  make  God's  mercy  little  concerned  in  man's  salva- 
tion ;  and  indeed  we  are  at  too  great  a  distance  from 
his  infinite  wisdom  and  power,  to  judge  of  the  liberty 
or  necessity  of  his  actings. 

Thirdly,  we  cannot  say  Jesus  Christ  was  the  great- 
est sinner  in  the  world,  (because  he  bore  our  sins  on 
his  cross,  or  because  he  was  made  sin  for  us,  who 
knew  no  sin,)  an  expression  of  great  levity  and  un- 
soundness, yet  often  said  by  great  preachers  and  pro- 
fessors of  religion. 

Fourthly,  we  cannot  believe  that  Christ's  death  and 
sufferings  so  satisfies  God  or  justifies  men,  as  that  they 
are  thereby  accepted  of  God  :  they  are  indeed  thereby 
put  into  a  state  capable  of  being  accepted  of  God, 
and,  through  the  obedience  of  faith  and  sanctification 
of  the  Spirit,  are  in  a  state  of  acceptance :  for  we  can 
never  think  a  man  justified  before  God,  while  self- 
oondemned:  or  that  any  man  can  be  in  Christ  who  is 
not  a  new  creature;  or  that  God  looks  upon  men 


58  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED 

otherwise  than  they  are.  AVe  think  it  a  state  of  pre- 
sumption  and  not  of  salvation,  to  call  Jesus  Lord,  and 
not  by  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost :  Master,  and  he 
not  yet  master  of  their  affections :  Saviour,  and  they 
not  saved  by  him  from  their  sins:  Redeemer,  and  yet 
they  not  redeemed  by  him  from  their  passion,  pride, 
eovetousness,  ivantonness,  vanity,  vain  honours,  friend- 
ships, and  glory  of  this  world :  which  were  to  deceive 
themselves  ;  for  God  will  not  be  mocked.  Such  as  men 
sow,  such  they  must  reap.  And  though  Christ  did  die 
for  us,  yet  we  must,  by  the  assistance  of  his  grace, 
work  out  our  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling :  as 
he  died  for  sin,  so  we  must  die  to  sin,  or  we  cannot 
be  said  to  be  saved  by  the  death  and  sufferings  of 
Christ,  or  thoroughly  justified  and  accepted  with  God. 
Thus  far  negatively.  Now,  positively,  what  we  own 
as  to  justification. 

§  3.  We  do  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  was  our  holy 
sacrifice,  atonement,  and  propitiation ;  that  he  bore 
our  iniquities,  and  that  by  his  stripes  we  were  healed 
of  the  wounds  Adam  gave  us  in  his  fall ;  and  that 
God  is  just  in  forgiving  true  penitents  upon  the  credit 
of  that  holy  offering  Christ  made  of  himself  to  God 
for  us ;  and  that  what  he  did  and  suffered  satisfied 
and  pleased  God,  and  was  for  the  sake  of  fallen  man, 
that  had  displeased  God  ;  and  that  through  the  offer- 
ing up  of  himself  once  for  all,  through  the  eternal 
Spirit,  he  hath  forever  perfected  those  (in  all  times) 
that  were  sanctified,  who  walked  not  after  the  flesh, 
but  after  the  Spirit,  Rom.  viii.  1.    Mark  that. 

§  4.  In  short,  justification  consists  of  two  parts,  or 
hath  a  tivofolcl  consideration,  viz.,  justification  from 
the  guilt  of  sin,  and  justification  from  the  power  and 
pollution  of  sin,  and  in  this  sense  justification  gives 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY   REVIVED.  59 

a  man  a  full  and  clear  acceptance  before  God.  For 
want  of  this  latter  part  it  is,  that  so  many  souls,  reli- 
giously inclined,  are  often  under  doubts,  scruples,  and 
despondencies,  notwithstanding  all  that  their  teachers 
tell  them  of  the  extent  and  efficacy  of  the  first  part 
of  justification.  And  it  is  too  general  an  unhappi- 
ness  among  the  professors  of  Christianity,  that  they 
are  apt  to  cloak  their  own  active  and  passive  disobe- 
dience with  the  active  and  passive  obedience  of  Christ. 
The  first  part  of  justification,  we  do  reverently  and 
humbly  acknowledge,  is  only  for  the  sake  of  the  death 
and  sufferings  of  Christ :  nothing  can  we  do,  though 
by  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  being  able  to  can- 
cel old  debts,  or  wipe  out  old  scores :  it  is  the  power 
and  efficacy  of  that  propitiatory  offering,  upon  faith 
and  repentance,  that  justifies  us  from  the  sins  that  are 
past ;  and  it  is  the  power  of  Christ's  Spirit  in  our 
hearts,  that  purifies  and  makes  us  acceptable  before 
God.  For  till  the  heart  of  man  is  purged  from  sin, 
God  will  never  accept  of  it.  He  reproves,  rebukes  and 
condemns  those  that  entertain  sin  there,  and  therefore 
such  cannot  be  said  to  be  in  a  justified  state  •  con- 
demnation and  justification  being  contraries  :  so  that 
they  who  hold  themselves  in  a  justified  state  by  the  ac- 
tive and  passive  obedience  of  Christ,  while  they  are  not 
actively  and  passively  obedient  to  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
Jesus,  are  under  a  strong  and  dangerous  delusion  ;  and 
for  crying  out  against  this  sin-pleasing  imagination, 
not  to  say  doctrine,  we  are  staged  and  reproached  as 
deniers  and  clespisers  of  the  death  and  sufferings  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  But  be  it  known  to  such, 
they  add  to  Christ's  sufferings,  and  crucify  to  them- 
selves afresh  the  Son  of  God,  and  trample  the  blood 
of  the  covenant  under  their  feet,  that  walk  unholily 


60  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY   REVIVED. 

under  a  profession  of  justification :  for  God  will  not 
acquit  the  guilty,  nor  justify  the  disobedient  and  un- 
faithful. 

Such  deceive  themselves,  and  at  the  great  and  final 
judgment  their  sentence  will  not  be,  Come,  ye  blessed, 
because  it  cannot  be  said  to  them,  Well  done  good 
and  faithful,  for  they  cannot  be  so  esteemed  that  live 
and  die  in  a  improvable  and  condemnable  state ;  but, 
Go  ye  cursed,  &c. 

§  5.  Wherefore,  0  my  reader  !  rest  not  thyself 
wholly  satisfied  with  what  Christ  has  done  for  thee  in 
his  blessed  person  without  thee,  but  press  to  know 
his  power  and  kingdom  within  thee,  that  the  strong 
man,  that  has  too  long  kept  thy  house,  may  be  bound, 
and  his  goods  spoiled,  his  works  destroyed,  and  sin 
ended,  according  to  1  John  iii.  7:  "Little  children, 
let  no  man  deceive  you,  he  that  doeth  righteousness 
is  righteous,  even  as  He  is  righteous."  "For  which 
end,"  says  that  beloved  disciple,  "Christ  was  mani- 
fested, that  all  things  may  become  new  :  new  heavens 
and  new  earth,  in  which  righteousness  divells"  Thus 
thou  wilt  come  to  glorify  God  in  thy  body  and  in  thy 
spirit,  which  are  his,  and  live  to  him  and  not  to  thy- 
self. Thy  love,  joy,  worship  and  obedience ;  thy  life, 
conversation,  and  practice ;  thy  study,  meditation, 
and  devotion,  will  be  spiritual :  for  the  Father  and 
the  Son  will  make  their  abode  with  thee,  and  Christ 
will  manifest  himself  to  thee;  for  "the  secrets  of 
the  Lord  are  with  them  that  fear  him:"  and  an 
holy  unction  or  anointing  have  all  those,  which 
leads  them  into  all  truth,  and  they  need  not  the 
teachings  of  men.  They  are  better  taught,  being 
instructed  by  the  divine  oracle:  no  bare  hearsay,  or 
traditional  Christians,  but  fresh  and  living  witnesses: 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  61 

those  that  have  seen  with  their  otvn  eyes,  and  heard 
with  their  own  ears,  and  have  handled  with  their  own 
hands,  the  word  of  life,  in  the  divers  operations  of 
it  to  their  souls'  salvation.  In  this  they  meet,  in  this 
they  preach,  and  in  this  they  pray  and  praise.  Be- 
hold the  new  covenant  fulfilled,  the  church  and  wor- 
ship of  Christ,  the  great  Anointed  of  God,  and  the 
great  anointing  of  God,  in  his  holy  high-priesthood, 
and  offices  in  his  church! 


CHAPTER    IX. 

$  1.  A  confession  to  Christ  and  his  work,  both  in  doing  and  suffer- 
ing. $  2.  That  ought  not  to  make  void  our  belief  and  testimony 
of  his  inward  and  spiritual  appearance  in  the  soul.  $  3.  What 
our  testimony  is  in  the  latter  respect :  that  it  is  impossible  to 
be  saved  by  Christ  without  us,  while  we  reject  his  work  and 
power  within  us.  \  4.  The  dispensation  of  grace,  in  its  nature 
and  extent.  g  5.  A  further  acknowledgment  to  the  death  and 
sufferings  of  Christ.  $  6.  The  conclusion,  showing  our  adversa- 
ries' unreasonableness. 

§  1.  And  lest  any  should  say  we  are  equivocal  in 
our  expressions,  and  allegorize  away  Christ's  appear- 
ance in  the  flesh ;  meaning  only  thereby,  our  own  flesh ; 
and  that  as  often  as  we  mention  Him,  we  mean  only 
a  mystery,  or  a  mystical  sense  of  Him,  be  it  as  to  his 
coming,  birth,  miracles,  sufferings,  death,  resurrec- 
tion, ascension,  mediation  and  judgment ;  I  would 
yet  add,  to  preserve  the  well-disposed  from  being 
staggered  by  such  suggestions,  and  to  inform  and  re- 
claim such  as  are  under  the  power  and  prejudice  of 
them,  that,  we  do,  we  bless  God,  religiously  believe 
11 


62  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

and  confess,  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father,  and  the 
honour  of  his  dear  and  beloved  Son,  that,  Jesus  Christ 
took  our  nature  upon  him,  and  ivas  like  unto  us  in 
all  things,  sin  excepted  :  That  he  ivas  born  of  the 
Virgin  Mary,  suffered  under  Pontius  Pilate,  the 
Roman  governor,  was  crucified,  dead,  and  buried 
in  the  sepulchre  of  Joseph  of  Arimathea ;  rose  again 
the  third  day,  and  ascended  into  heaven,  and  sits  on 
the  right  hand  of  God,  in  the  power  and  majesty  of 
his  Father  ;  who  will  one  day  judge  the  world  by  him, 
even  that  blessed  man,  Christ  Jesus,  according  to  their 
works. 

§  2.  But  because  we  so  believe,  must  we  not  believe 
what  Christ  said,  "He  that  is  ivith  you  shall  be  in 
you"?  John  xiv.  "I  in  them  and  they  in  me,"  &c. : 
chap.  xvii.  "  When  it  pleased  God  to  reveal  Jiis  Son 
in  me,"  &c. :  Gal.  "  The  mystery  hid  from  ages,  is 
Christ  in  the  Gentiles  the  hope  of  glory :"  Col.  i. 
"Unless  Christ  be  in  you,  ye  are  reprobates :"  2  Cor. 
xiii.  Or  must  we  be  industriously  represented  de- 
niers  of  Christ's  coming  in  the  flesh,  and  the  holy  ends 
of  it,  in  all  the  parts  and  branches  of  his  doing  and 
suffering,  only  because  we  believe  and  press  the  ne- 
cessity of  believing,  receiving  and  obeying  his  inward 
and  spiritual  appearance  and  manifestation  of  him- 
self, through  his  light,  grace,  and  Spirit,  in  the  hearts 
and  consciences  of  men  and  women,  to  reprove,  con- 
vict, convert,  and  change  them?  This  we  esteem 
hard  and  unrighteous  measure ;  nor  would  our  warm 
and  sharp  adversaries  be  so  dealt  with  by  others  :  but 
to  do  as  they  would  be  done  to,  is  too  often  no  part 
of  their  practice,  whatever  it  be  of  their  profession. 

§  3.  Yet  we  are  very  ready  to  declare  to  the  whole 
world,  that  we  cannot  think  men  and  women  can  be 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  63 

saved  by  their  belief  of  the  one,  without  the  sense 
and  experience  of  the  other ;  and  that  is  what  we 
oppose,  and  not  his  blessed  manifestation  in  the  flesh. 
We  say  that  he  then  overcame  our  common  enemy, 
foiled  him  in  the  open  field,  and  in  our  nature  tri- 
umphed over  him  that  had  overcome  and  triumphed 
over  it  in  our  forefather  Adam  and  his  posterity : 
and  that  as  truly  as  Christ  overcame  him  in  our 
nature,  in  his  own  person,  so,  by  his  divine  grace, 
being  received  and  obeyed  by  us,  he  overcomes  him 
in  us :  that  is,  he  detects  the  enemy  by  his  light  in 
the  conscience,  and  enables  the  creature  to  resist  him 
and  all  his  fiery  darts ;  and  finally,  so  to  fight  the 
good  fight  of  faith,  as  to  overcome  him,  and  lay  hold 
on  eternal  life. 

§  4.  And  this  is  the  dispensation  of  grace,  which  we 
declare  has  appeared  to  all,  more  or  less;  teaching 
those  that  will  receive  it,  "to  deny  ungodliness  and 
worldly  lusts,  and  to  live  soberly,  righteously,  and 
godly  in  this  present  ivorld  ;  looking  for  (which  none 
else  can  justly  do)  the  blessed  hope,  and  glorious 
appearing  of  the  great  God,  and  our  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ"  &c. :  Tit.  ii.  11,  12,  13.  And  as  from  the 
teachings,  experience  and  motion,  of  this  grace  we 
minister  to  others,  so  the  very  drift  of  our  ministry 
is  to  turn  people's  minds  to  this  grace  in  themselves, 
that  all  of  them  may  up  and  be  doing,  "  even  the 
good  and  acceptable  ivill  of  Gfod,  and  work  out  their 
salvation  with  fear  and  trembling,  and  make  their 
high  and  heavenly  calling  and  election  sure;"  which 
none  else  can  do,  whatever  be  their  profession,  church, 
and  character  ;  for  such  as  men  sow  they  must  reap  ; 
and  his  servants  we  are  whom  we  obey.  Regenera- 
tion we  must  know,  or  we  cannot  be  children  of  God, 


G4  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

and  heirs  of  eternal  glory :  and  to  be  born  again, 
another  spirit  and  principle  must  prevail,  leaven, 
season,  and  govern  us,  than  either  the  spirit  of  the 
world,  or  our  own  depraved  spirits  ;  and  this  can  be 
no  other  spirit  than  that  which  dwelt  in  Christ ;  for 
unless  that  dwell  in  us,  we  can  be  none  of  his.  Rom. 
viii.  9. :  "But  ye  are  not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the  Spirit, 
if  so  be  that  the  Spirit  of  Crod  dwell  in  you.  Noiv  if 
any  man  have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of 
his."  And  this  Spirit  begins  in  conviction,  and  ends 
in  conversion  and  perseverance  ;  and  the  one  follows 
the  other.  Conversion  being  the  consequence  of 
convictions  obeyed,  and  perseverance  a  natural  fruit 
of  conversion,  and  being  born  of  God.  "For  such  sin 
not,  because  the  Seed  of  Grod  abides  in  them."  John 
iii.  7,  8  :  "3Iarvel  not  that  I  said  unto  thee,  Ye  must 
be  born  again.  The  wind  bloweth  where  it  listeth, 
and  thou  hearest  the  sound  thereof,  but  canst  not  tell 
whence  it  cometh,  and  ivhither  it  goeth :  so  is  every 
one  that  is  born  of  the  Spirit."  But  such,  through 
faithfulness,  continue  to  the  end,  and  obtain  the  pro- 
mise, even  everlasting  life. 

§  5.  But  let  my  reader  take  this  along  with  him, 
that  we  do  acknowledge  that  Christ,  through  his  holy 
doing  and  suffering,  (for  being  a  Son  he  learned 
obedience)  has  obtained  mercy  of  God  his  Father  for 
mankind,  and  that  his  obedience  has  an  influence  to 
our  salvation,  in  all  the  parts  and  branches  of  it, 
since  thereby  he  became  a  conqueror,  and  led  cap- 
tivity captive,  and  obtained  gifts  for  men,  with  divers 
great  and  precious  promises,  that  thereby  we  might  be 
partakers  of  the  divine  nature,  having  (first)  escaped 
the  corruption  that  is  in  the  world,  through  lust.  I 
say,  we  do  believe  and  confess,  that  the  active  and 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  65 

jMssive  obedience  of  Christ  Jesus  affects  our  salva- 
tion throughout,  as  well  from  the  power  and  pollution 
of  sin,  as  from  the  guilt,  he  being  a  conqueror  as 
well  as  a  sacrifice,  and  both  through  suffering.  Yet 
they  that  reject  his  divine  gift,  so  obtained,  (and  which 
he  has  given  to  them,  by  which  to  see  their  sin  and 
the  sinfulness  of  it,  and  to  repent  and  turn  away 
from  it,  and  do  so  no  more ;  and  to  wait  upon  God 
for  daily  strength  to  resist  the  fiery  darts  of  the 
enemy,  and  to  be  comforted  through  the  obedience 
of  faith  in  and  to  this  divine  grace  of  the  Son  of 
God)  such  do  not  please  God,  believe  truly  in  God, 
nor  are  they  in  a  state  of  true  Christianity  and  sal- 
vation. "Woman"  said  Christ,  to  the  Samaritan  at 
the  well,  "  hadst  thou  knoivn  the  gift  of  God,  and 
who  it  is  that  speaheth  to  thee,"  &c.  People  know 
not  Christ,  and  God,  whom  to  know  is  life  eternal, 
John  xvii.,  because  they  are  ignorant  of  the  gift  of 
God,  viz.,  a  measure  of  the  Spirit  of  God  that  is 
given  to  any  one  to  profit  with.  1  Cor.  xii.  7  :  "But 
the  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  is  given  to  every  man 
to  profit  withal."  Which  reveals  Christ  and  God  to 
the  soul;  1  Cor.  ii.  1 :  "xlnd  I,  brethren,  when  I  came 
to  you,  came  not  with  excellency  of  speech,  or  of 
wisdom,  declaring  unto  you  the  testimony  of  God. 

"  2.  For  I  determined  not  to  know  any  thing 
among  you,  save  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified. 

"  3.  And  I  was  with  you  in  weakness,  and  in  fear, 
and  in  much  trembling. 

"  4.  And  my  speech  and  my  preaching  was  not 
with  enticing  words  of  man's  wisdom,  but  in  demon- 
stration of  the  Spirit  and  of  power  : 

"  5.  That  your  faith  should  not  stand  in  the  wis- 
dom of  men,  but  in  the  power  of  God. 


66  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

"  6.  Howbeit  we  speak  wisdom  among  them  that 
are  perfect :  yet  not  the  wisdom  of  this  world,  nor 
of  the  princes  of  this  world,  that  come  to  nought : 

"  7.  But  we  speak  the  wisdom  of  God  in  a  mystery, 
even  the  hidden  tvisdom,  which  God  ordained  before 
the  world  unto  our  glory ; 

"  8.  Which  none  of  the  princes  of  this  world  knew  : 
for  had  they  known  it,  they  would  not  have  crucified 
the  Lord  of  glory. 

"  9.  But  as  it  is  written,  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor 
ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man, 
the  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that 
love  him. 

"10.  But  God  hath  revealed  them  unto  us  by  his 
Spirit ;  for  the  Spirit  searcheth  all  things,  yea,  the 
deep  things  of  God. 

"  11.  For  what  man  knoweth  the  things  of  a  man, 
save  the  spirit  of  man  which  is  in  him  ?  even  so  the 
things  of  God  knoweth  no  man,  but  the  Spirit  of  God. 

"  12.  Now  we  have  received,  not  the  spirit  of  the 
world,  but  the  Spirit  which  is  of  God  ;  that  we  might 
know  the  things  that  are  freely  given  to  us  of  God. 

"  13.  Which  things  also  we  speak,  not  in  the  words 
which  man's  wisdom  teacheth,  but  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  teacheth ;  comparing  spiritual  things  with  spi- 
ritual. 

"  14.  But  the  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things 
of  the  Spirit  of  God ;  for  they  are  foolishness  unto 
him :  neither  can  he  know  them,  because  they  are 
spiritually  discerned. 

"  15.  But  he  that  is  spiritual  judgeth  all  things, 
yet  he  himself  is  judged  of  no  man. 

"16.  For  who  hath  known  the  mind  of  the  Lord, 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  67 

that  he  may  instruct  him  ?      But  we  have  the  mind 
of  Christ." 

Flesh  and  blood  cannot  do  it,  Oxford  and  Cam- 
bridge cannot  do  it,  tongues  and  philosophy  cannot 
do  it :  for  they  that  by  wisdom  knew  not  God,  had 
these  things  for  their  wisdom.  They  were  strong, 
deep  and  accurate  in  them ;  but,  alas  !  they  were 
clouded,  puffed  up,  and  set  further  off  from  the  inward 
and  saving  knowledge  of  God,  because  they  sought 
for  it  in  them,  and  thought  to  find  God  there.  But  the 
Key  of  David  is  another  thing,  which  shuts  and  no 
man  opens,  and  opens  and  no  man  shuts ;  and  this 
key  have  all  they  that  receive  the  gift  of  Cfod  into 
their  hearts,  and  it  opens  to  them  the  knowledge  of 
God  and  themselves,  and  gives  them  a  quite  other 
sight,  taste  and  judgment  of  things  than  their  edu- 
cational or  traditional  knowledge  afforded  them. 
This  is  the  beginning  of  the  neiv  creation  of  God, 
and  thus  it  is  we  come  to  be  new  creatures. 

And  we  are  bold  to  declare,  there  is  no  other  way 
like  this,  by  which  people  can  come  into  Christ,  or  be 
true  Christians,  or  receive  the  advantage  that  comes 
by  the  death  and  sufferings  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
Wherefore  we  say,  and  upon  good  authority,  even 
that  oiour  oivn  experience,  as  well  as  that  of  the  Scrip- 
tures of  truth,  Christ  will  prove  no  saving  sacrifice 
for  them,  that  refuse  to  obey  him  for  their  example. 
They  that  reject  the  gift,  deny  the  giver  instead  of 
themselves  for  the  giver's  sake.  Oh  that  people  were 
wise,  that  they  would  consider  their  latter  end,  and 
the  things  that  make  for  the  peace  thereof!  Why 
should  they  perish  in  a  vain  hope  of  life,  ivhile  death 
reigns  ?  Of  living  with  God,  who  live  not  to  him,  nor 
walk  with  him? 


68  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

Awake,  thou  that  sleepest  in  thy  sin,  or  at  best, 
in  thy  self-righteousness  !  Awake,  I  say,  and  Christ 
shall  give  thee  life  !  For  he  is  the  Lord  from  heaven, 
the  quickening  Spirit,  that  quickens  us,  by  his  Spirit, 
if  we  do  not  resist  it  and  quench  it  by  our  disobe- 
dience, but  receive,  love  and  obey  it,  in  all  the  holy 
leadings  and  teachings  of  it.  Rom.  viii.  14,  15,  16  : 
"For  as  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they 
are  the  sons  of  God. 

"  15.  For  ye  have  not  received  the  spirit  of  bondage 
again  to  fear  ;  but  ye  have  received  the  spirit  of 
adoption,  whereby  we  cry,  Abba,  Father. 

"  16.  The  Spirit  itself  beareth  witness  with  our 
spirit,  that  we  are  children  of  God  :" 

To  which  Holy  Spirit  I  commend  my  reader,  that 
he  may  the  better  see  where  he  is,  and  also  come  to 
the  true  belief  and  advantage  of  the  doings  and 
sufferings  of  our  dear  and  blessed  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ,  who  saves  from  the  power  and  pollution, 
as  well  as  guilt  of  sin,  all  those  that  hear  his  knocks, 
and  open  the  door  of  their  hearts  to  him,  that  he  may 
come  in  and  work  a  real  and  thorough  reformation  in 
and  for  them;  and  so  the  benefit,  virtue  and  efficacy 
of  his  doings  and  sufferings  without  us,  will  come  to 
be  livingly  and  effectually  applied  and  felt,  and  fel- 
lowship with  Christ  in  his  death  and  sufferings  known, 
according  to  the  doctrine  of  the  apostle  ;  which,  those 
that  live  in  that  which  made  him  suffer,  know  not, 
though  they  profess  to  be  saved  by  his  death  and 
sufferings.  Much  more  might  be  said  as  to  this 
matter,  but  I  must  be  brief. 

§  6.  To  conclude  this  chapter,  we  wonder  not  that 
we  should  be  mistaken,  misconstrued  and  misrepre- 
sented, in  what  we  believe  and  do  to  salvation,  since 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  69 

our  betters  have  been  so  treated  in  the  primitive 
times.  Nor  indeed  is  it  only  about  doctrines  of 
religion ;  for  our  practice  in  worship  and  discipline 
have  had  the  same  success.  But  this  is  what  I 
earnestly  desire,  that  however  bold  people  are  pleased 
to  make  with  us,  they  would  not  deceive  themselves 
in  the  great  things  of  their  own  salvation:  that  while 
they  would  seem  to  own  all  to  Christ,  they  are  not 
found  disoivned  of  Christ  in  the  last  clay.  Read  the 
7th  of  Mattheiv :  It  is  he  that  hears  Christ,  the 
great  Word  of  G-od,  and  does  what  he  enjoins,  what 
he  commands,  and  by  his  blessed  example  recom- 
mends, that  is  a  wise  builder,  that  has  founded  his 
house  well,  and  built  with  good  materials,  and  whose 
house  will  stand  the  last  shock  and  judgment.  For 
which  cause  we  are  often  plain,  close  and  earnest 
with  people  to  consider,  that  Christ  came  not  to  save 
them  in,  but  from  their  sins ;  and  that  they  that 
think  to  discharge  and  release  themselves  of  his  yoke 
and  burden,  his  cross  and  example,  and  secure  them- 
selves, and  compliment  Christ  with  his  having  done 
all  for  them  (while  he  has  wrought  little  or  nothing 
in  them  nor  they  parted  with  any  thing  for  the  love 
of  him)  will  finally  awake  in  a  dreadful  surprise,  at 
the  sound  of  the  last  trumpet,  and  at  this  sad  and 
irrevocable  sentence,  "Depart  from  me  ye  workers  of 
iniquity,  I knoiv  you  not:"  which  terrible  end  may 
all  timely  avoid,  by  hearkening  to  wisdom's  voice,  and 
turning  at  her  reproof,  that  she  may  lead  them  in  the 
ways  of  righteousness,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  paths 
of  judgment,  that  their  souls  may  come  to  inherit 
substance ;  even  durable  riches  and  righteousness  in 
the  kingdom  of  the  Father,  ivorld  without  end. 


70  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 


CHAPTER  X. 

§  1.  Of  the  true  worship  of  God  in  what  it  stands.  \  2.  Of  the  trite 
ministry,  that  it  is  by  inspiration.  \  3.  The  Scripture  plain  in  thai 
case.  \  4.  Christ's  ministers,  true  witnesses,  they  speak  what  they 
know,  not  by  report.  \  5.  Christ s  ministers  preach  freely ;  it  is 
one  of  their  marks. 

§  1.  As  the  Lord  wrought  effectually,  by  his  divine 
grace,  in  the  hearts  of  this  people,  so  he  thereby 
brought  them  to  a  divine  worship  and  ministry: 
Christ's  words  they  came  to  experience,  viz. :  That 
G-od  was  a  Spirit,  and  that  he  would  therefore  be  wor- 
shipped in  the  Spirit,  and  in  the  truth,  and  that  such 
worshippers  the  Father  would  seek  to  worship  him. 
For,  bowing  to  the  convictions  of  the. Spirit  in  them- 
selves, in  their  daily  course  of  living,  by  which  they 
were  taught  to  eschew  that  which  was  made  manifest 
to  them  to  be  evil,  and  to  do  that  which  was  good, 
they,  in  their  assembling  together,  sat  down,  and 
waited  for  the  preparation  of  this  Holy  Spirit,  both 
to  let  them  see  their  states  and  conditions  before  the 
Lord,  and  to  worship  him  acceptably ;  and  as  they 
were  sensible  of  wants,  or  shortness,  or  infirmities,  so 
in  the  secret  of  their  own  hearts,  prayer  would  spring 
to  God,  through  Jesus  Christ,  to  help,  assist  and  sup- 
ply :  but  they  did  not  dare  to  awake  their  Beloved 
before  his  time  ;  or  approach  the  throne  of  the  King 
of  Grlory,  till  he  held  out  his  sceptre;  or  take  thought 
what  they  should  say,  or  after  their  own  or  other 
men's  studied  ivords  and  forms,  for  this  were  to  offer 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  71 

strange  fire  ;  to  pray,  but  not  by  the  Spirit  ;  to  ask, 
but  not  in  the  name,  that  is,  in  the  power  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  who  prayed,  as  well  as  spoke,  like  one 
having  authority,  that  is,  power,  a  divine  energy  and 
force  to  reach  and  pierce  the  heavens,  which  he  gives 
to  all  that  obey  his  light,  grace  and  Spirit,  in  their 
solemn  waitings  upon  him.  So  that  it  is  this  people's 
principle,  that  fire  must  come  from  heaven;  life  and 
power  from  God  to  enable  the  soul  to  pour  out  itself 
acceptably  before  him. 

And  when  a  coal  from  his  holy  altar  touches  our 
lips,  then  can  we  pray  and  praise  him  as  we  ought  to 
do.  And  as  this  is  our  principle,  and  that  according 
to  Scripture,  so  it  is,  blessed  be  God,  our  experience 
and  practice :  and  therefore  it  is  we  are  separated 
from  the  worships  of  men,  under  their  several  forms, 
because  they  do  not  found  it  in  the  operation,  motion 
and  assistance  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  but  the  ap- 
pointment, invention  and  framing  of  man,  both  as  to 
the  matter,  words  and  time.  We  do  not  dissent  in 
our  own  wills,  and  we  dare  not  comply  against  his 
that  has  called  us,  and  brought  us  to  his  own  spiritual 
worship ;  in  obedience  to  whom  we  are  what  we  are, 
in  our  separation  from  the  divers  ways  of  worship  in 
the  world. 

§  2.  And  as  our  worship  stands  in  the  operation 
of  the  Spirit  and  Truth  in  our  inward  parts,  as  before 
expressed,  so  does  our  ministry.  For  as  the  holy 
testimonies  of  the  servants  of  God  of  old,  were  from 
the  operation  of  his  blessed  Spirit,  so  must  those  of 
his  servants  be  in  every  age,  and  that  which  has  not 
the  Spirit  of  Christ  for  its  spring  and  source,  is  of 
man,  and  not  of  Christ.  Christian  ministers  are  to 
minister  what  they  receive:    this  is  Scripture;  now 


72  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVE©. 

that  which  we  receive  is  not  our  own,  less  another 
man's,  but  the  Lord's :  so  that  we  are  not  only  not 
to  steal  from  our  neighbours,  but  we  are  not  to  study 
nor  speak  our  own  words.  If  we  are  not  to  study 
what  we  are  to  say  before  magistrates  for  ourselves, 
less  are  we  to  study  what  we  are  to  say  for  and  from 
God  to  the  people.  We  are  to  minister,  as  the  oracles 
of  God ;  if  so,  then  must  we  receive  from  Christ, 
God's  great  oracle,  what  we  are  to  minister.  And 
if  we  are  to  minister  what  we  receive,  then  not 
what  we  study,  collect,  and  beat  out  of  our  own 
brains,  for  that  is  not  the  mind  of  Christ,  but  our 
imaginations,  and  this  will  not  profit  the  people. 

§  3.  This  was  recommended  to  the  Corinthians  by 
the  Apostle  Paul,  1  Cor.  xiv.,  that  they  should  speak 
as  they  were  moved,  or  as  any  thing  was  revealed  to 
them,  by  the  Spirit,  for  the  edification  of  the  church ; 
for,  says  he,  ye  may  all  prophesy  ;  that  is,  ye  may 
all  preach  to  edification,  as  any  thing  is  revealed  to 
you,  for  the  good  of  others,  and  as  the  Spirit  giveth 
utterance.  And  if  the  Spirit  must  give  Christ's 
ministers  their  utterance,  then  those  that  are  his  are 
careful  not  to  utter  any  thing  in  his  name  to  the 
people,  without  his  Spirit ;  and  by  good  consequence, 
they  that  go  before  the  true  guide,  and  utter  words 
without  the  knowledge  of  the  mind  of  the  Spirit,  are 
none  of  Christ's  ministers :  such,  certainly,  run,  and 
God  has  not  sent  them,  and  they  cannot  profit  the 
people.  And  indeed,  how  should  they,  when  it  is 
impossible  that  mere  man,  with  all  his  parts,  arts  and 
acquirements,  can  turn  people  from  darkness  to  light, 
and  from  the  poiver  of  Satan  to  God,  which  is  the 
very  end  and  work  of  the  gospel  ministry.  It  must 
be  inspired  men,  men  gifted  by  God,  taught  and  in- 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  73 

fluenced  by  his  heavenly  Spirit,  that  can  be  qualified 
for  so  great,  so  inward,  and  so  spiritual  a  work. 

§  4.  Ministers  of  Christ  are  his  ivitnesses  ;  and  the 
credit  of  a  witness  is,  that  he  has  heard,  seen  or 
handled:  and  thus  the  beloved  disciple  states  the 
truth  and  authority  of  their  mission  and  ministry  ; 
1  John  i.  1,  3 :  That  ivhich  we  have  heard,  which  we 
have  seen  with  our  eyes,  which  we  have  looked  upon 
and  our  hands  have  handled,  that  declare  we  unto 
you,  that  your  fellowship  may  be  ivith  us,  and  truly 
our  fellowship  is  with  the  Father,  and  with  his  Son 
Jesus  Clirisb.  I  say,  if  Christ's  ministers  are  his 
witnesses,  they  must  know  what  they  speak ;  that  is, 
they  must  have  experienced  and  passed  through  those 
states  and  conditions,  they  preach  of,  and  practically 
know  those  truths  they  declare  of  to  the  people,  or 
they  come  not  in  by  the  door,  but  over  the  wall,  and 
are  thieves  and  robbers.  He  that  has  the  key  of 
David  comes  in  at  the  door,  Christ  Jesus,  and  has  his 
admission  and  approbation  from  him,  anointed  by 
him,  the  alone  high-priest  of  the  gospel  dispensation. 
He  it  is  that  breathes,  and  lays  his  hands  upon  his 
own  ministers ;  he  anoints  them,  and  recruits  their 
cruse,  and  renews  their  horn  with  oil,  that  they  may 
have  it  pure  and  fresh  for  every  occasion  and  service 
he  calls  them  to,  and  engages  them  in. 

§  5.  Nor  is  this  all,  but  as  they  receive  freely,  freely 
they  give:  they  do  not  teach  for  hire,  divine  for 
money,  nor  preach  for  gifts  or  reivards.  It  was 
Christ's  holy  command  to  his  ministers  to  give  freely, 
and  it  is  our  practice.  And  truly  we  cannot  but 
admire  that  this  should  be  made  a  fault,  and  that 
preaching  for  hire  should  not  be  seen  to  be  one ;  yea, 
a  mark  of  false  prophets,  wThen  it  has  been  so  fre- 

12 


74  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

quently  and  severely  cried  out  upon,  by  the  true  pro- 
phets of  God  in  former  times.  I  would  not  be  un- 
charitable, but  the  guilty  are  desired  to  call  to  mind, 
who  it  was  that  offered  money  to  be  made  a  minister, 
and  what  it  was  for ;  if  not  to  get  money  and  make  a 
trade  or  livelihood  by  it ;  and  what  answer  he  met 
with  from  the  Apostle  Peter,  Acts  viii.  18,  19,  20 : 
"  And  when  Simon  saiv  that  through  laying  on  of 
the  apostle  s  hands  the  Holy  Ghost  was  given,  he 
offered  them  money,  saying,  Give  me  also  this  power, 
that  on  whomsoever  I  lay  hands,  he  may  receive  the 
Holy  Ghost.  But  Peter  said  unto  him,  Thy  money 
perish  with  thee,  because  thou  hast  thought  that  the 
gift  of  God  may  be  purchased  with  money." 

The  Lord  touch  the  hearts  of  those  that  are  giving 
money  to  be  made  ministers,  in  order  to  live  by  their 
preaching,  that  they  may  see  what  ground  it  is  they 
build  upon,  and  repent,  and  turn  to  the  Lord,  that 
they  may  find  mercy,  and  become  living  witnesses  of 
his  power  and  goodness  in  their  own  souls ;  so  may 
they  be  enabled  to  tell  others  what  God  has  done  for 
them,  which  is  the  root  and  ground  of  the  true 
ministry ;  and  this  ministry  it  is  that  God  does  bless. 
I  could  say  much  on  this  subject,  but  let  what  has 
been  said  suffice  at  this  time,  only  I  cannot  but 
observe,  that  where  any  religion  has  a  strong  tempta- 
tion of  gain  to  induce  men  to  be  ministers,  there  is 
great  danger  of  their  running  faster  to  that  calling, 
than  becomes  a  true  gospel  minister. 

§  1.  Obj.  But  does  not  this  sort  of  ministry,  and 
worship,  tend  to  make  people  careless,  and  to  raise 
spiritual  pride  in  others,  may  it  not  give  an  occasion 
to  great  mischief  and  irreligion  ? 

Answ.    By  no  means,  for  when  people  are  of  age, 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  75 

they,  of  right,  expect  their  inheritances ;  and  the 
end  of  all  words  is  to  bring  people  to  the  great  Word, 
and  then  the  promise  of  God  is  accomplished,  "  They 
shall  be  all  taught  of  me,  from  the  least  to  the  great- 
est, and  in  righteousness  (pray  mark  that)  they  shall 
be  established,  and  great  shall  be  their  peace"  To 
this  of  the  evangelical  prophet,  the  beloved  disciple 
agrees,  and  gives  a  full  answer  to  the  objection  : 
These  things  have  I  ivritten  unto  you,  concerning 
them  that  seduce  you:  but  the  anointing,  which  ye 
have  received  of  him,  abideth  in  you,  and  ye  need 
not  that  any  man  teach  you,  but  as  the  same  anoint- 
ing teacheth  you,  of  all  things,  and  is  truth,  and  is 
no  lie  :  and  even  as  it  hath  taught  you,  ye  shall  abide 
in  him :  In  which,  three  things  are  observable.  1st. 
That  he  wrote  his  epistle  upon  an  extraordinary  occa- 
sion, viz.  to  prevent  their  delusion.  2dly.  That  he 
asserts  a  nearer  and  superior  minister  than  himself, 
viz.  the  anoi7iting  or  grace  they  had  received ;  and 
that  not  only  in  that  particular  exigency,  but  in  all 
cases  that  might  attend  them.  3dly.  That  if  they 
did  but  take  head  to  the  teachings  of  it,  they  would 
have  no  need  of  man's  directions,  or  fear  of  his  se- 
ducings.  At  least  of  no  ministry  that  comes  not  from 
the  power  of  the  anointing :  though  I  rather  take  the 
apostle  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  words :  thus  also 
the  Apostle  Paul  to  the  Thessalonians :  "  But  as 
touching  brotherly  love,  ye  need  not  that  I  write  unto 
you :  for  ye  yourselves  are  taught  of  God  to  love  one 
another, "  1  Thess.  iv.  9.  But  helps  are  useful,  and 
a  great  blessing,  if  from  God,  such  was  John  the  Bap- 
tist's ;  but  remember  he  pointed  all  to  Christ.  John 
i.  26  :  «  Lo,  the  Lamb  of  God  !  I  baptize  you  with 
water,  but  he  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost 


76  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

and  with  fire,"  Matt.  iii.  11.  And  so  the  true  ministry 
does.  And  while  people  are  sensual,  and  under  such 
an  eclipse,  by  the  interposition  of  sin  and  Satan,  God 
is  pleased  to  send  forth  his  enlightening  servants  to 
awaken  and  turn  them  from  the  darkness  to  the  light 
in  themselves,  that,  through  obedience  to  it,  they  may 
come  to  be  children  of  the  light.  John  xii.  36  :  And 
have  their  fellowship  one  with  another  in  it,  and  an 
inheritance  at  last,  with  the  saints  in  light  forever. 

And  as  it  is  the  way  God  has  taken  to  call  and 
gather  people,  so  a  living  and  holy  ministry  is  of 
great  advantage  to  watch  over,  and  build  up  the 
young,  and  comfort  and  establish  the  feeble  and  sim- 
ple ones.  But  still  I  say,  the  more  inward,  the  less 
outtvard ;  the  more  people  come  to  be  taught  imme- 
diately of  God,  by  the  light  of  his  word  and  Spirit  in 
their  hearts,  the  less  need  of  outward  means,  read 
Isa.  lx.  19,  20 :  "  The  sun  shall  be  no  more  thy  light 
by  day  ;  neither  for  brightness  shall  the  moon  give 
light  unto  thee :  but  the  Lord  shall  be  unto  thee  an 
everlasting  light,  and  thy  God  thy  glory.  Thy  sun 
shall  no  more  go  down  ;  neither  shall  thy  moon  with- 
draw itself:  for  the  Lord  shall  be  thine  everlasting 
light,  and  the  days  of  thy  mourning  shall  be  ended." 
Which  is  held  by  all  to  be  a  gospel  promise,  and  the 
sun  and  moon  there  are  generally  understood  to  mean 
the  external  means  in  the  church.  Compare  them 
with  John  i.  13 :  "  Which  tvere  born,  not  of  blood, 
nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but 
of  God."  And  Rom.  i.  19  :  "Because  that  which  may 
be  known  of  God  is  manifest  in  them :  for  God  hath 
sheiued  it  unto  them."  And  1  Cor.  ii.  11-15 :  "For 
what  man  knoweth  the  things  of  a  man,  save  the  spirit 
of  man  which  is  in  him  ?   Even  so,  the  things  of  God 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  77 

knoweth  no  man,  but  the  Spirit  of  God.  Now  ive 
have  received,  not  the  spirit  of  the  ivorld,  but  the 
Sjnrit  which  is  of  God;  that  we  might  know  the 
things  that  are  freely  given  to  us  of  God.  Which 
things  also  we  speak,  not  in  the  words  which  mans 
wisdom  teacheth,  but  ivhich  the  Holy  Ghost  teacheth; 
comparing  spiritual  things  with  spiritual.  But 
the  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit 
of  God;  for  they  are  foolishness  unto  him:  neither 
can  he  know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually  dis- 
cerned. But  he  that  is  spiritual  judgeth  all  things, 
yet  he  himself  is  judged  of  no  man.1'  And  1  Thess. 
iv.  9:  "But  as  touching  brotherly  love,  ye  need  not 
that  I  write  unto  you :  for  ye  yourselves  are  tauglit 
of  God  to  love  one  another. ,"  And  1  John  ii.  20-27 : 
"  But  ye  have  an  unction  from  the  Holy  One,  and  ye 
know  all  things.  I  have  not  written  unto  you  be- 
cause ye  knoiv  not  the  truth  ;  but  because  ye  know  it, 
and  that  no  lie  is  of  the  truth.  Wlio  is  a  liar,  but  he 
that  denieth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  ?  He  is  Anti- 
christ, that  denieth  the  Father  and  the  Son.  Whoso- 
ever denieth  the  Son,  the  same  hath  not  the  Father : 
(but  he  that  acknowledgeth  the  Son  hath  the 
Father  also.)  Let  that  therefore  abide  in  you,  which 
ye  have  heard  from  the  beginning.  If  that  ivhich  ye 
have  heard  from  the  beginning  shall  remain  in  you, 
ye  also  shall  continue  in  the  Son,  and  in  the  Father. 
And  this  is  the  promise  that  he  hath  promised  us, 
even  eternal  life.  These  things  have  I  written  unto 
you  concerning  them  that  seduce  you.  But  the 
anointing,  which  ye  have  received  of  him,  abideth  in 
you  ;  and  ye  need  not  that  any  man  teach  you :  but 
as  the  same  anointing  teacheth  you  of  all  things,  and 
is  truth,  and  is  no   lie,  and  even  as  it  hath  taught 

12* 


78  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

you,  ye  shall  abide  in  him"  And  Rev.  xxi.  22,  23,  24  : 
"And  I  saw  no  temple  therein:  for  the  Lord  God 
Almighty,  and  the  Lamb,  are  the  temple  of  it.  And 
the  city  had  no  need  of  the  sun,  neither  of  the  moon, 
to  shine  in  it :  for  the  glory  of  God  did  lighten  it,  and 
the  Lamb  is  the  light  thereof.  And  the  nations  of 
them  tvhich  are  saved,  shall  walk  in  the  light  of  it; 
and  the  kings  of  the  earth  do  bring  their  glory  and 
honour  into  it."  All  which  places  prove  what  we 
assert  of  the  sufficiency  and  glorious  privilege  of  in- 
ward and  spiritual  teachings.  And  most  certainly, 
as  men  grow  in  grace,  and  know  the  anointing  of  the 
Word  in  themselves,  the  dispensation  will  be  less  in 
words  (though  in  words)  and  more  in  life  ;  and  preach- 
ing will  in  great  measure  be  turned  into  praising,  and 
the  worship  of  God,  more  into  walking  with,  than 
talking  of  God :  for  that  is  worship  indeed,  that  bows 
to  his  will  at  all  times,  and  in  all  places  :  the  truest, 
the  highest  worship,  man  is  capable  of  in  this  world. 
And  it  is  that  conformity  that  gives  communion,  and 
there  is  no  fellowship  with  God,  no  light  of  his  coun- 
tenance to  be  enjoyed,  no  peace  and  assurance  to  be 
had,  further  than  their  obedience  to  his  will,  and  a 
faithfulness  to  his  word,  according  to  the  manifesta- 
tion of  the  light  thereof  in  the  heart. 

I  say,  this  is  the  truest  and  highest  state  of  wor- 
ship ;  for  set  days  and  places,  with  all  the  solemnity 
of  them,  were  most  in  request  in  the  weakest  dispen- 
sation. Altars,  arks  and  temples,  Sabbaths  and 
festivals,  &c,  are  not  to  be  found  in  the  writings  of 
the  New  Testament.  There  every  day  is  alike,  and 
every  place  is  alike ;  but  if  there  were  a  dedication,  let 
it  be  to  the  Lord.  Rom.  xiv.  5,  6,  7,  8,  17  :  "  One  man 
esteemeth  one  day  above  another ;  another  esteemeth 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  79 

every  day  alike.  Let  every  man  be  fully  persuaded 
in  his  own  mind.  He  that  regardeth  the  day,  re- 
gardeth it  unto  the  Lord  ;  and  he  that  regardeth  not 
the  day,  to  the  Lord  he  doth  not  regard  it.  He  that 
eateth,  eateth  to  the  Lord,  for  he  giveth  God  thanks  ; 
and  he  that  eateth  not,  to  the  Lord  he  eateth  not,  and 
giveth  God  thanks.  For  none  of  us  liveth  to  himself, 
and  no  man  dieth  to  himself.  For  whether  we  live, 
we  live  unto  the  Lord ;  and  whether  we  die,  we  die 
unto  the  Lord ;  ivhether  we  live,  therefore,  or  die,  we 
are  the  Lord's. 

17th  ver.  "For  the  kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat 
and  drink  ;  but  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy  in 
the  Holy  Ghost." 

1  Cor.  viii.  6:  "But  to  us  there  is  but  one  God, 
the  Father,  of  ivhom  are  all  things,  and  tve  in  him; 
and  one  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  ivhom  are  all  things, 
and  toe  by  him"  Col.  ii.  16,17:  "  Let  no  man 
therefore,  judge  you,  in  meat,  or  in  drink,  or  in  re- 
spect of  an  holy -day,  or  of  the  new-moon,  or  of  the 
sabbath-days ;  which  are  a  shadoiv  of  things  to  come; 
but  the  body  is  of  Christ." 

Phil.  i.  21 :  "  For  to  me  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to 
die  is  gain." 

Gal.  ii.  20:  "Z  am  crucified  with  Christ:  never- 
theless L  live :  yet  not  L,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me : 
and  the  life  ivhich  J  noiu  live  in  the  flesh,  L  live  by 
the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  ivho  loved  me,  and  gave 
himself  for  me."  Thus  the  Apostle,  but  he  plainly 
shows  a  state  beyond  it,  for  to  live  (with  him)  was 
Christ,  and  to  die  was  gain  ;  for  the  life  he  lived, 
was  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  therefore  it 
was  not  he  that  lived,  but  Christ  that  lived  in  him ; 
that  is,  that  ruled,  conducted,  and  bore  sivay  in  him, 


80  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

which  is  the  true  Christian  life,  the  supersensual  life  ; 
the  life  of  conversion  and  regeneration ;  to  which  all 
the  dispensations  of  God,  and  ministry  of  his  servants 
have  ever  tended,  as  the  consummation  of  God's  work 
for  man's  happiness.  Here  every  man  is  a  temple, 
and  every  family  a  church,  and  every  place  a  meeting- 
place,  and  every  visit  a  meeting.  And  yet  a  little 
while  and  it  shall  be  so  yet  more  and  more ;  and  a 
people  the  Lord  is  now  preparing  to  enter  into  this 
Sabbath  or  degree  of  rest. 

Not  that  we  would  be  thought  to  undervalue  public 
and  solemn  meetings:  we  have  them  all  over  the 
nation  where  the  Lord  hath  called  us.  Yea,  though 
but  two  or  three  of  us  be  in  a  corner  of  a  country, 
we  meet,  as  the  Apostle  exhorted  the  saints  of  his 
time,  and  reproved  such  as  neglected  to  assemble 
themselves.  But  yet  show  we  unto  thee,  0  reader,  a 
more  excellent  way  of  worship:  for  many  may  come 
to  those  meetings,  and  go  away  carnal,  dead  and 
dry ;  but  the  worshippers  in  spirit  and  in  truth, 
whose  hearts  bow,  whose  minds  adore  the  Eternal 
God,  that  is  a  Spirit,  in  and  by  his  Spirit,  such  as 
conform  to  his  will,  and  walk  with  him  in  a  spiritual 
life,  they  are  the  true,  constant,  living  and  acceptable 
worshippers ;  whether  it  be  in  meetings  or  out  of 
meetings  ;  and  as  with  such,  all  outward  assemblies 
are  greatly  comfortable,  so  also  do  we  meet  for  a 
public  testimony  of  religion  and  worship,  and  for  the 
edification  and  encouragement  of  those  that  are  yet 
young  in  the  truth,  and  to  call  and  gather  others  to 
the  knowledge  of  it,  who  are  yet  going  astray ;  and 
blessed  be  God,  it  is  not  in  vain,  since  many  are 
thereby  added  to  the  church,  that  we  hope  and  believe 
shall  be  saved. 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  81 


CHAPTER    XL 

|  1.  Against  tithes.  \  2.  Against  all  sicearing.  \  3.  Against  tear 
among  Christians.  $  4.  Against  the  salutations  of  the  times.  §  5. 
And  for  plainness  of  speech.  $  6.  Against  mixt  marriages.  $  7. 
And  for  plainness  in  apparel,  £fc.  No  sports  and  pastimes  after  the 
manner  of  this  world.  \  8.  Of  observing  days.  \  9.  Of  care  of 
poor,  peace  and  conversation. 

§  1.  And  as  God  has  been  pleased  to  call  us  from 
an  human  ministry,  so  we  cannot  for  conscience'  sake 
support  and  maintain  it,  and  upon  that  score,  and  not 
out  of  humour  or  covetousness,  we  refuse  to  pay 
tithes,  or  such  like  pretended  dues,  concerning  which, 
many  books  have  been  writ  in  our  defence  :  we  can- 
not support  what  we  cannot  approve,  but  have  a  tes- 
timony against ;  for  thereby  we  should  be  found  in- 
consistent with  ourselves. 

§  2.  We  dare  not  swear,  because  Christ  forbids  it. 
Matt.  v.  34-37 :  "  But  I  say  unto  you,  swear  not  at 
all :  neither  by  heaven  ;  for  it  is  God's  throne  :  nor 
by  the  earth ;  for  it  is  his  footstool:  neither  by  Jeru- 
salem ;  for  it  is  the  city  of  the  great  King  :  neither 
shalt  thou  swear  by  thy  head  ;  because  thou  canst  not 
make  one  hair  white  or  black.  But  let  your  com- 
munication be  Yea,  yea  ;  Nay,  nay  :  for  whatsoever  is 
more  than  these  cometh  of  evil."  And  James,  his 
true  follower.  It  is  needless  as  well  as  evil,  for  the 
reason  of  swearing  being  untruth,  that  man's  yea  ivas 
not  yea.  Swearing  was  used  to  awe  men  to  truth- 
speaking,  and  to  give  others   satisfaction,  that  what 


82  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

was  sworn,  was  true.  But  the  true  Christian's  yea 
being  yea,  the  end  of  an  oath  is  answered  and  there- 
fore the  use  of  it  is  needless,  superfluous  and  cometh 
of  evil.  The  Apostle  James  taught  the  same  doctrine, 
and  the  primitive  Christians  practised  it,  as  may  be 
seen  in  the  Book  of  Martyrs  ;  as  also  the  earliest  and 
best  of  the  Reformers. 

§  3.  We  also  believe,  that  war  ought  to  cease, 
among  the  followers  of  the  Lamb  Christ  Jesus,  who 
taught  his  disciples  to  forgive  and  love  their  enemies, 
and  not  to  war  against  them,  and  kill  them ;  and  that 
therefore  the  weapons  of  his  true  followers  are  not 
carnal  but  spiritual ;  yea,  mighty,  through  God,  to 
cut  down  sin  and  ivickedness,  and  dethrone  him  that 
is  the  author  thereof.  And  as  this  is  the  most 
Christian,  so  the  most  rational  way ;  love  and  per- 
suasion having  more  force  than  weapons  of  war. 
Nor  would  the  worst  of  men  easily  be  brought  to  hurt 
those  that  they  really  think  love  them.  It  is  that 
love  and  patience  must  in  the  end  have  the  victory. 

§  4.  We  dare  not  give  worldly  honour,  or  use  the 
frequent  and  modish  salutations  of  the  times,  seeing 
plainly,  that  vanity,  pride  and  ostentation,  belong  to 
them.  Christ  also  forbade  them  in  his  day,  and  made 
the  love  of  them  a  mark  of  declension  from  the  sim- 
plicity of  purer  times ;  and  his  disciples,  and  their 
followers,  were  observed  to  have  obeyed  their  Master's 
precept.  It  is  not  to  distinguish  ourselves  a  party, 
or  out  of  pride,  ill-breeding  or  humour,  but  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  sight  and  sense  we  have  received  from 
the  Spirit  of  Christ,  of  the  evil  rise  and  tendency 
thereof. 

§  5.  For  the  same  reason  we  have  returned  to  the 
first  plainness  of   speech,  viz.  thou  and  thee,  to   a 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  83 

single  person,  which  though  men  give  no  other  to  God, 
they  will  hardly  endure  it  from  us.  It  has  been  a 
great  jest  upon  pride,  and  shewn  the  blind  and  weak 
insides  of  many.  This  also  is  out  of  pure  conscience, 
whatever  people  may  think  or  say  of  us  for  it.  We 
may  be  despised,  and  have  been  so  often,  yea,  very 
evilly  entreated,  but  we  are  now  better  known,  and 
the  people  better  informed.  In  short,  it  is  also  both 
scripture  and  grammar,  and  we  have  propriety  of 
speech  for  it,  as  well  as  peace  in  it. 

§  6.  We  cannot  allow  of  mixed  marriages,  that  is, 
to  join  with  such  as  are  not  of  our  society;  but 
oppose  and  disown  them,  if  at  any  time  any  of  our 
profession  so  grossly  err  from  the  rule  of  their  com- 
munion ;  yet  restore  them  upon  sincere  repentance, 
but  not  disjoin  them.  The  book  I  writ  of  the  rise 
and  progress  of  the  people  called  Quakers,  is  more  full 
and  express  herein. 

§  7.  Plainness  in  apparel  and  furniture,  is  another 
testimony  peculiar  to  us,  in  the  degree  we  have  bore 
it  to  the  world :  as  also  few  ivords,  and  being  at  a 
word.  Likewise  temperance  in  food,  and  abstinence 
from  the  recreations  and  pastimes  of  the  world :  all 
which  we  have  been  taught,  by  the  Spirit  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  to  be  according  to  godliness  ;  and  there- 
fore we  have  loug  exhorted  all,  that  their  moderation 
may  be  known  unto  all  men,  for  that  the  Lord  was  at 
hand,  to  enter  into  judgment  with  us  for  every  in- 
temperance or  excess  ;  and  herein  we  hope  we  have 
been  no  ill  examples,  or  scandal  unto  any  that  have  a 
due  consideration  of  things. 

§  8.  We  cannot,  in  conscience  to  God,  observe  holy 
days  (so  called)  the  public  fasts  and  feasts,  because 
of  their  human  institution   and   ordination,  and  that 


84  PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED. 

they  have  not  a  divine  warrant,  but  are  appointed  in 
the  will  of  man. 

§  9.  Lastly,  we  have  been  led  by  this  good  Spirit 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  of  which  I  have  treated  in 
this  discourse,  according  to  primitive  practice,  to 
have  a  due  care  over  one  another,  for  the  preservation 
of  the  whole  society,  in  a  conversation  more  suitable 
to  their  holy  professions. 

First.  In  respect  to  a  strict  walking  both  towards 
those  that  are  without,  and  those  that  are  within; 
that  their  conversation  in  the  world,  and  walking  in 
and  towards  the  church,  may  be  blameless.  That  as 
they  may  be  strict  in  the  one,  so  they  may  be  faithful 
in  the  other. 

Secondly.  That  collections  be  made  to  supply  the 
wants  of  the  poor,  and  that  care  be  taken  of  widows 
and  orphans,  and  such  as  are  helpless,  as  well  in 
counsel,  as  about  substance. 

Thirdly.  That  all  such  as  are  intended  to  marry, 
if  they  have  parents,  or  are  under  the  direction  of 
guardians  or  trustees,  are  obliged,  first,  to  declare  to 
them  their  intention,  and  have  their  consent  before 
they  propose  it  to  one  another,  and  the  meeting  they 
relate  to,  who  are  also  careful  to  examine  their  clear- 
ness, and  being  satisfied  with  it,  they  are  by  them 
allowed  to  solemnize  their  marriage  in  a  public  select 
meeting,  for  that  purpose  appointed,  and  not  other- 
wise :  whereby  all  clandestine  and  indirect  marriages 
are  prevented  among  us. 

Fourthly.  And  to  the  end  that  this  good  order  may 
be  observed,  for  the  comfort  and  edification  of  the 
society,  in  the  ways  of  truth  and  soberness;  select 
meetings  (of  care  and  business)  are  fixed  in  all  parts, 
where  we  inhabit,  which  are  held  monthly,  and  which 


PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    REVIVED.  85 

resolve  into  quarterly  meetings,  and  those  into  one 
yearly  meeting,  for  our  better  communication  one 
with  another,  in  those  things  that  maintain  piety  and 
charity  ;  that  God,  who  by  his  grace,  has  called  us  to 
be  a  people,  to  his  praise,  may  have  it  from  us, 
through  his  beloved  Son,  and  our  ever-blessed  and 
only  Redeemer,  Jesus  Christ,  for  he  is  worthy, 
worthy,  now  and  ever.  Amen. 

Thus,  reader,  thou  hast  the  character  of  the  people 
called  Quakers,  in  their  doctrine,  worship,  ministry, 
'practice  and  discipline :  compare  it  with  Scripture, 
and  primitive  example,  and  we  hope  thou  wilt  find, 
that  this  short  discourse  hath,  in  good  measure, 
answered  the  title  of  it,  viz.  : — 

Primitive  Christianity  Revived,  in  the  principles 
and  practice  of  the  people  called  Quakers. 


13 


APPENDIX. 


"GOSPEL  TRUTHS/' 

«  Sober  reader,  if  thou  hadst  rather  we  should  be 
in  the  right  than  in  the  wrong,  and  if  thou  thinkest 
it  but  a  reasonable  thing  that  we  should  be  heard 
before  we  are  condemned,  and  that  our  belief  ought 
to  be  taken  from  our  own  mouths,  and  not  at  theirs 
that  have  prejudged  our  cause,  then  we  entreat  thee 
to  read  and  weigh  the  following  brief  account  of  those 
things  that  are  chiefly  received  and  professed  among 
us,  the  people  called  Quakers,  according  to  the  testi- 
mony of  the  Scriptures  of  truth,  and  the  illumination 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  are  the  double  and  agree- 
ing record  of  true  religion.  Published  to  inform  the 
moderate  inquirer,  and  reclaim  the  prejudiced  to  a 
better  temper ;  which  God  grant,  to  his  glory  and 
their  peace. 

"I.  It  is  our  belief  that  God  is,  and  that  he  is 
a  rewarder  of  all  them  that  fear  him,  with  eternal 
rewards  of  happiness ;  and  that  those  that  fear  him 
not,  shall  be  turned  into  hell.  Heb.  xi.  16 ;  Rev.  xxii. 
12  ;  Rom.  ii.  5-8 ;  Ps.  ix.  17. 

"II.  That  there  are  three  that  bear  record  in 
heaven :  the  Father,  the  Word,  and  the  Spirit ;  and 
these  three  are  really  one.  1  John  v.  7. 

"III.  That  the  Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt 
among  men,  and  was  and  is  the  only-begotten  of  the 


APPBNDI^  87 

Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth — his  beloved  Son,  in 
whom  he  is  well  pleased,  and  whom  we  are  to  hear 
in  all  things;  who  tasted  death  for  every  man,  and 
died  for  sin,  that  we  might  die  to  sin,  and  by  his 
power  and  spirit  be  raised  up  to  newness  of  life  here, 
and  to  glory  hereafter.  John  i.  14 ;  Matt.  iii.  17  ; 
Heb.  ii.  9. 

"  IV.  That  as  we  are  only  justified  from  the  guilt 
of  sin  by  Christ,  the  propitiation,  and  not  by  works  of 
righteousness  that  we  have  done,  so  there  is  an  abso- 
lute necessity  that  we  receive  and  obey,  to  unfeigned 
repentance  and  amendment  of  life,  the  holy  light  and 
spirit  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  order  to  obtain  that  remis- 
sion and  justification  from  sin;  since  no  man  can  be 
justified  by  Christ  who  walks  not  after  the  Spirit,  but 
after  the  flesh ;  for  whom  he  sanctifies,  them  he  also 
justifies.  And  if  we  walk  in  the  light  as  he  is  light, 
his  precious  blood  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin,  as  well 
from  the  pollution  as  guilt  of  sin.  Horn.  iii.  22-26; 
chap.  viii.  1-4 ;    1  John  v.  7. 

"V.  That  Christ  is  the  great  light  of  the  world, 
that  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world, 
and  is  full  of  grace  and  truth,  and  giveth  to  all  light 
for  light,  and  grace  for  grace ;  and  by  his  light  and 
grace  he  inwardly  appears  to  man,  and  teaches  such 
as  will  be  taught  by  him,  'that,  denying  ungodliness 
and  worldly  lusts,  they  should  live  soberly,  right- 
eously, and  godly  in  this  present  world.'  John  vii. 
12 ;  chap.  i.  9,  14 ;   Tit.  ii.  11,  12. 

"VI.  That  this  principle  of  light  and  grace,  which 
is  God's  gift,  through  Christ  to  man,  is  that  which 
shows  us  our  sins,  reproves  us  for  them,  and  would 
lead  all  out  of  them  that  obey  it,  to  serve  God  in 
fear  and  love  all  their  days.      And  they  that  turn 


88  APPENDIX. 

not  at  the  reproofs  thereof,  and  will  not  repent,  and 
live  and  walk  according  to  it,  shall  die  in  their  sins ; 
and  where  Christ  is  gone,  they  shall  never  come;  who 
is  undefiled  and  separated  from  sinners.  Eph.  v.  13; 
John  xvi.  7  ;   Prov.  i.  20-24 ;  John  viii.  24. 

"VII.  This  is  that  principle  by  which  God  pre- 
pares the  heart  to  worship  him  aright ;  and  all  the 
duties  of  religion,  as  praying,  praising,  and  preach- 
ing, ought  to  be  performed  through  the  sanctifying 
power  and  assistance  of  it;  other  worship  being  but 
formal  and  will-worship,  with  which  we  cannot  in 
conscience  join,  nor  can  we  maintain  or  uphold  it. 
Rom.  viii.  26 ;  1  Pet.  iv.  10,  11. 

"VIII.  Worship  in  this  gospel-day,  is  inward  and 
spiritual ;  for  God  is  a  Spirit,  as  Christ  teacheth,  and 
he  will  now  be  worshipped  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  being 
most  suitable  to  his  divine  nature.  Wherefore  we 
wait  in  our  assemblies  to  feel  God's  Spirit  to  open  and 
move  upon  our  hearts,  before  we  dare  offer  sacrifice 
to  the  Lord  or  preach  to  others  the  way  of  his  king- 
dom ;  that  we  may  preach  in  power  as  well  as  words, 
and  as  God  promised  and  Christ  ordained,  without 
money,  and  without  price.  John  iv.  23,  24 ;  1  Thess. 
i.  5 ;  Isa.  Iv.  1 ;  Rev.  xxii.  17 ;  Matt.  x.  8. 

"  IX.  This  also  leads  us  to  deny  all  the  vain  cus- 
toms and  fashions  of  the  world,  and  to  avoid  excess 
in  all  things,  that  our  moderation  may  be  seen  of  all 
men ;  because  the  Lord  is  at  hand  to  see  and  judge 
us  according  to  our  deeds.  Tit.  ii.  12;  Rom.  xii.  2; 
Phil.  iv.  5  ;  Eccl.  xii.  14  ;  Matt.  xvi.  27  ;  Rom.  ii.  6; 
Rev.  xx.  12. 

"X.  We  believe  the  necessity  of  the  one  baptism 
of  Christ,  as  well  as  of  his  one  supper,  which  he  pro- 
mised to  eat  with  those  that  open  the  door  of  their 


APPENDIX.  89 

hearts  to  hirn,  being  the  baptism  and  supper  signified 
by  the  outward  signs;  which,  though  we  disuse,  we 
judge  not  those  that  conscientiously  practise  them. 
Matt,  iii.  11;  Eph.  iv.  1;  1  Pet.  iii.  21,  22  ;  Johnvi.; 
Rev.  iii.  20. 

"  XI.  We  honour  government,  for  we  believe  it  is 
an  ordinance  of  God  ;  and  that  we  ought  in  all  things 
to  submit,  by  doing  or  suffering  ;  but  esteem  it  a  great 
blessing,  where  the  administration  is  a  terror  to  evil- 
doers, and  a  praise  to  them  that  do  well.  Rom.  xiii. 
1-5. 

"This  hath  all  along  been  the  general  stream  and 
tendency,  both  of  our  ministry  and  writings,  as  our 
books  will  make  appear,  notwithstanding  what  ill- 
minded  and  prejudiced  persons  may  have  strained  to 
misrepresent  us  and  our  Christian  profession. 

"William  Penn,     Thomas  Story, 
"Anthony  Sharp,  George  Rook.* 

"Dublin,  3d  month,  160S.'' 

*  Perm's  Select  Works,  Loudon  ed.  1771. 


THE     END. 


STIKEOTYPED   BY   L.   JOUNiOX  &   CO. 
rUILAl'LLl'HIA. 


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